The Stranger's Son
by paperstylehearts
Summary: **Currently on Indefinite Hiatus** Kurt has a one night stand after which he constantly finds himself running into the stranger's 18yr old stepson Blaine... who is also his new French student. Not your average student!teacher fic! Rated M. xHIATUSx
1. Best Thing I Never Had

**The Stranger's Son**

_paperstylehearts_

Summary: Kurt has a one night stand after an agonizing sex drought where after he finds himself constantly running into the stranger's eighteen year old stepson Blaine, who he's been assigned to give remedial French classes to. Sexual tension ensues.

**A/N: **I have NOT abandoned _Klainelight… _In fact Chapter Ten is almost 7000 words along at the moment! This is just a little idea I came up with on the plane back home from Europe and it wouldn't leave me alone… Please read and review!

…Chapter One... _Best Thing I Never Had_

Kurt Hummel was lying in bed, bored.

Honestly, his hand just wasn't cut out to serve him justly anymore. Still it was all that he had but he was starting to get really, really bored of using it.

Alone up in the fifth floor of his hotel apartment with absolutely nothing to do was actually incredibly peaceful when he thought about it.

Fuck peaceful.

He needed some background noise. The television would have to suffice in the meantime. And then, something weird happened.

His phone rang.

His phone never rang. Sometimes he forgot he even had one.

"Kurt speaking."

"Seriously lame way to answer the phone, Kurt. It makes you sound really boring and pretentious." Wait—he recognized that voice.

"Miss Holliday?"

"C'mon Kurtsie, we're both subs now, I told you to call me Holly."

He had guessed right, "Yeah, sure. It's just—it's been a while. So now where and when do you need me to step in for you?"

"I'm offended that you wouldn't assume this was a catch-up coffee call."

"I've known you a while now. Six years in fact."

He heard her sigh into the phone, "Okay so you got me. But I promise this gig is closer to home. I've got an address for a school in Westerville. And it's a French class. So you can turn up hung-over and still teach sober."

"Not everyone has your skill, Holly. But I'll take it. When is it?"

He jotted down the details and bade her goodbye. She promised the next time she called, it would be for coffee.

Then another weird thing happened. Kurt's phone rang again. _Wow, I'm popular today_, he thought.

"Kurt speaking," he repeated, out of habit more than anything else.

"Kurt? Kurt, it's Julie."

"Julie?" It sounded like he had no idea who it was—but that's the tone he was aiming for, "Okay, I'm just kidding—oh my God, how are you?"

Julie used to work at the Starbucks from across the road and had made Kurt's coffee three times daily every day for the past year… until some up and coming Broadway director had noticed her during one of her performance assignments and she was suddenly running all over the country. Kurt envied her but his Broadway dreams were long over—and despite what he may have thought during high school he really did enjoy being a French teacher. He sometimes even stepped in if the school had a glee club. Mr. Schue, his old glee teacher who had also taught languages, would have been proud.

"Are you there, Kurt?"

"Yeah, yes, sorry. I just haven't heard from you in ages. So you must be busy?"

"Super busy. I'm so sorry we haven't been able to catch up—which is why I'm calling. Do you want to be my plus one for a dinner party tonight? It's a fancy one…"

"I don't know, Julie. I've just been scheduled for a class tomorrow. Why aren't you taking Brian?"

"Because I see him every night but I haven't seen you in ages. This is me apologizing for being so crazy busy so I'd much rather take you. We won't stay out too late so you can still make your class. Meet me at my place at seven?"

She wasn't going to take no for an answer and truth be told, Kurt did miss her. And her superb making coffee skills. Starbucks had never been the same since she left.

Kurt looked at the time. It was four thirty. If he was going to be at Julie's by seven he'd better start getting ready now.

~.~

Kurt dressed pretty simple that night. But simple for Kurt at a fancy dinner, with his Broadway ex-coffee barista bestie Julie, meant that he was wearing a fucking suit. The aftershave he wore stung at his cheeks as he made his way outside, the cool breeze blowing through his spray straightened hair. Julie lived near the Starbucks she used to work at and as a result was only across the road from Kurt too.

Arriving three minutes fashionably late, Kurt was ready to accept all praise showered to him when Julie opened the door to see how fabulous he looked but when she finally did reach her front door he gasped.

"Oh my God, are you wearing Valentino?"

She leapt out and hugged him and he almost choked. _And Chanel perfume, too?_

Squealing, her greeting was at the very least, enthusiastic. "Oooh, I can't believe it's you! I've missed you so much!"

"Yeah okay, woman! Now tell me how the hell did you afford this dress?"

She hit his arm playfully, "I'm surprised that someone who's wearing a suit from an unnamed designer's last year's collection can even recognize what I'm wearing!"

"Well," Kurt spluttered, "If the salary you're on can afford you this unbelievably gorgeous dress than the next time I see you, I expect a new damn suit!"

She laughed, hugging him again tightly. "C'mon let's get out of here or we'll both be more than fashionably late to this stupid dinner."

~.~

They were in the penthouse of some rising choreographer—no, producer… well, someone important, eating weirdly expensive finger food and sipping on vodka tonics when Julie suddenly ambushed him.

"Okay who is he? What does he do for a living and why haven't I met him yet?"

Kurt raised an eyebrow confused, looking around the place. He couldn't see who she was talking about or what she was referring to. He also swore that he'd only had two drinks.

"What are you on about?"

She giggled, "Your boyfriend, silly! And I'm asking you like that because there is no way in hell that you're single right now."

Kurt sighed, "Sadly, the only intimate relationship I have is with my hand and quite frankly I think we're over each other. It just isn't working out anymore. Shame. He was my first."

This time Julie hit him hard, "Kurt! Could you be any less subtle?"

"Hey!" he teased, rubbing his arm where she had struck him, "You asked for it!"

"A simple 'I'm not seeing anyone at the moment,' would have been sufficient."

He shrugged, "Why'd you bring it up anyway? You know I would have already bragged about him by now if there were someone."

"Because—and don't look now okay—but there's an absolutely gorgeous guy sitting on the blue suede couch who's been checking you out all evening. I'd do him myself except he's obviously gay for you."

"And you have Brian."

"And I have Brian. Now go talk to him before I go over there and tell him you told me to!"

The thing with Julie is that she always meant what she said. In short, if Kurt didn't listen to her she really would go and talk to that guy for him. But over the past they had checked out similar guys so if she said he was gorgeous, he probably was… and it had been a while since he had hooked up so…

He turned around and first allowed himself to _look_. There was nothing wrong with that, right?

…And Julie hadn't been lying. The guy was smiling right at him _and_ he was absolutely sexy. He was wearing a gray suit and his shoes—oh! His shoes!—were _Italian_ leather…. He had light brown hair and a chiseled jaw and maybe it was because the guy needed to shave but he looked—

"Julie, that guy at the very least has to be forty!"

"So? It just means that he has more experience. And unless you kiss and make up with your hand, I don't think you're in a position to be so picky. Besides, judging by all the male attention you've been getting tonight, he's far by your best pick."

"What other male attention?"

"My point exactly. Now go!"

Kurt sulked mockingly, "I thought tonight was supposed to be about us!"

Julie laughed, "Totally is! Which is why I'm the best wing-woman ever, right?"

Kurt couldn't even argue that tonight had been a ploy to set him up because Julie hadn't even known he wasn't seeing anyone until he had just told her two minutes ago. And she _had_ made some pretty valid points. And okay, maybe there was a lack of male attention tonight but it wasn't like he was at a gay bar where the men stared at him plenty. But he had to stop making excuses because Julie had that look in her eye that said if he didn't get a move on she was going to go over there soon.

Resigned to keep her quiet, Kurt did make his way over to the couch. He shook the man's hand, learnt that his name was Alex and that he was definitely a lot older than Kurt. Like thirteen years older. Kurt was only twenty-two.

But then Alex bought Kurt a couple more drinks—and this was on top of the three (or four?) that he had already shared with Julie—so he no longer cared how old Alex was. He was gorgeous. And manly. And it had been so long since had had hooked up so of course he was going back to Alex's place after. And no, Julie wouldn't mind. And when Alex kissed him and they fell back onto his bed, drunk as he was, he knew his hand had finally forgiven him.

~.~

Kurt mightn't have known where he was the next morning but he did know that his head hurt. A lot. And that he was going to kill Julie.

Slowly, he opened his eyes. He was half-on, half-off—someone's—bed and oh! Were those his expensive pants on the floor? Ugh. He was getting them dry-cleaned before class today.

Oh. Yeah. He had to teach class today. Shit.

Where was…? What was his name? Kurt curiously looked over to a photo the guy had of himself on his bed stand. And though his head was still spinning like mad he was still awake enough to realize that the guy wasn't alone in the photo and that he had his arms wrapped around a woman.

Wait, what?

No, Kurt no. You had not just got into bed with a curious straight guy. That was obviously his sister in the photo. It didn't matter that they didn't look anything alike. It was his sister.

"That's my ex-wife."

Kurt spun around. The guy was standing there in nothing but a towel. His hair was dripping wet and even though he had shaved now, wow, he was still sexy but definitely a lot older than Kurt. He took a step forward noticing how wide Kurt's eyes were and smiled.

"Yeah, our marriage kinda fell apart after we both realized I was gay."

Kurt nodded. Really, what do you even say in these situations?

"Hey—_Kurt_, was it?"

Again, Kurt nodded.

"I don't mean to sound like a prick but my step-son is coming over soon and although he's not really my step-son anymore I don't want him making any unnecessary assumptions about my personal life."

Kurt realized that this was his cue to leave. Ah well, at least the sex had been good. And Julie had been right on another account—they guy had experience. But he looked really awkward at having to ask Kurt to go.

"It's okay, I understand. I have somewhere I have to be anyway, so…"

The guy made another step towards him, "L-look I… I don't like leaving things like this. Can I get your number or something?"

Kurt tilted his head a little, scanning the man's face for any trace of sarcasm. When it became evident however, that he was actually being serious about wanting Kurt's number, Kurt had to force his inner bitch down to keep from laughing in his face.

"Oh wow, I guess it's me who's going to sound like the prick here. Honestly—I don't even remember your name—and I'd rather you didn't tell me." Kurt added hurriedly as the guy had looked like he was about to remind him. "I don't mean to sound so horrible. Last night was amazing and I don't regret it but sometimes I'm not myself when alcohol is involved. The guy you met last night—that's just not me. I'm not the type of guy who just sleeps around which I know makes it sound like I used you and I'm sorry."

And then, because he couldn't get over the stunned look in the man's eyes and because he really was feeling like a douche at the moment, he took the guy's hands in his own, locking their finger's together in an apologetic way.

The moment only lasted a second. The man kissed Kurt on the forehead and broke their hands apart.

"I understand, Kurt."

Kurt gave him an awkward smile and let himself out of the room. He had almost reached the main door when he heard his name being called out.

"Can I at least give you _my_ number? That way, you know, if you change your mind, that would be okay with me."

Kurt didn't see the harm in accepting. It wasn't like he was going to call but he didn't need to tell him that. In fact, as soon as the door had closed behind him, Kurt scrunched the paper in his fist and casually let it drop to the floor.

What Kurt hadn't realized however, was that the hallway wasn't empty. Behind Kurt, a school boy had seen him walk out of the apartment and drop the paper. Kurt hadn't noticed him at all.

"Hey! Er excuse me! You dropped this!"

Kurt turned around, ready to tell whoever not to worry, that he didn't need the paper, that it was just rubbish but—_damn_.

The boy in front of him was incredible.

Judging by his uniform, he obviously went to a private school. His dark navy blazer was emblazoned with a large capital 'D' that had been tailored on in red. So, despite Kurt having just slept with a thirty-five year old guy, he did have an age limit and if this boy was still in school he was definitely under it. But still, there was really no harm in looking. Because this young man was incredibly gorgeous with his hazel eyes and curly slicked back hair and—

"Did you just come out of my dad's apartment?"

Oh shit.

"Um, no." Kurt lied. Horribly too, the boy didn't look convinced. And then the boy looked down at the paper in his hand and gently unfolded it.

"Well, that's strange 'cos this is my dad's number."

Kurt glanced at his watch. He was going to be late to his class. "Hey, you look like you come from a good school, you wouldn't know the easiest way to Dalton Academy, would you?"

The boy looked at him, a small sarcastic smile forming across his lips, "Actually, that's exactly where my dad's dropping me off now. You wanna see if I can get him to give you a lift?"

So explains the smile, Kurt thought. "You know on second thoughts I can use Google maps. I'll see you around."

He turned to leave but the student hurried to catch up beside him, "Hey um, what school did you transfer from? I didn't know we were getting a new student and there's no way you're a freshman."

His sincerity caught Kurt by surprise and he stopped walking, "Actually, I'm a teacher. I'm subbing for Mademoiselle Rousseau. And if I really was a student, what would I be doing with your dad?"

"So you admit it? You did just come out of his apartment _and_ throw his number away?"

Kurt shrugged, "What can I say? You caught me."

The boy shook his head. The disappointment in his face confused Kurt, "But why did you throw away my dad's number like that? He's actually a great guy, you know."

"I'm sure he is. He's also thirteen years older than me. But as of right now I am your teacher, so this conversation has just become entirely inappropriate."

This time when Kurt walked away, the boy did not follow him.

~.~

When Blaine had finally let himself into the apartment, Alex was already dressed and had lain breakfast out.

"Hey Dad."

"Hey Blaine! All ready for school? I've got pancakes ready for before we leave!"

"They look great."

His dad wasn't buying it, "Really? Because you couldn't look less enthused than you do right now. I thought these were your favorite?"

Blaine sighed, "No, I'm sorry, they really do look wonderful. It's just I found out today who we have substituting for Mademoiselle Rousseau."

"And why has that got you down? Do you not like this new teacher?"

Blaine moved over to the dining table and still standing began to pick at his food, "The new teacher is the douche who just walked out of your apartment."

His dad, who was halfway through drinking some orange juice, almost spat it out. "How do you know Kurt?"

"I don't. I just tried to catch up to him after he threw this paper on the floor."

Alex looked up, realized the paper was the one he had given Kurt with his number on it and sighed. "Ah don't worry about it Blaine. I didn't think I had a shot anyway."

But Blaine wasn't listening. His dad was the nicest guy he knew. Okay so maybe things hadn't worked out with him and Blaine's mom (but they were still really good friends), and maybe Alex wasn't his dad anymore (but he may as well still be) so Blaine was not going to let anyone screw him over. Including sexy young substitute French teachers.

~.~


	2. Shut Up & Drive

**The Stranger's Son**

_paperstylehearts_

**A/N:** You guysss… [and grrrrlss…] you have BLOWN my mind away! This is my face right now - 0_0 Within mere hours of posting this my hotmail inbox was flooded with your love! I have received more alerts and favorites for this story than I have ever before… The review count was not so good BUT I know there are people out there reading this and therefore this chapter is dedicated to each and every one of you… I only hope it delivers! Please tell me what you think and what you'd like to see in the review section and I will do my best to accommodate… I don't know exactly where this is heading but gLee episode 3x06 featuring _Hot __for __Teacher_ is _muchos_ inspiration…

….Chapter Two… _Shut __Up __& __Drive_

Blaine may have been short and skinny for his age but he was still a growing boy and he'd helped himself to five pancakes, two bowls of fruit salad, a granola bar, a glass of orange juice and Alex still wasn't ready, despite being showered and dressed, because he was on the phone.

To Blaine's mom.

Blaine glanced at his watch. If they didn't leave soon he was going to be late. And since a lot of his classes this year were makeup ones because of all the drama that had gone down last year he didn't want to have to do them again. He quickly loaded the dishwasher with the many plates he had used and made his way into Alex's room.

Where he was still on the phone. To Blaine's mom.

Blaine rolled his eyes. His mom loved Alex. Well platonically now anyway. He had never seen such a _good_ breakup between two people before. He stood at the door impatiently and Alex took notice.

"Hold on a sec, Leanne, your son is waiting…. Okay, I'm sorry, _our_ son…"

Leanne and Alex wanted Blaine to know that despite their relationship dissolution they both still loved him very much and as a result Alex had adopted Blaine. Since Blaine was technically an adult now, it didn't mean very much to the law but to their small family it sure did.

"Hey Blaine?" Alex said, putting one hand over the speaker of his Blackberry, "It doesn't look like I'm about to get off the phone anytime soon. Your mom may or may not need me to take her to the airport but we're still trying to work that out. Will you be okay taking the BMW to school?"

Blaine didn't even get a say in the matter—Alex had already swung his keys out to him. Blaine's eyes lit up as he caught them graciously. "But if I have the car, how will you drive her there?"

"I have the Benz at some tire shop in Lima. It should be ready today. I'll catch a cab there. Do you need any money for lunch?"

Blaine shook his head, "No, I have the Amex on me."

"Good. Now go or you'll be late! But drive safely… no, not you Leanne—_Blaine_."

Blaine headed out of the room with a backwards wave to Alex and a smile on his face. He really loved how much Alex took care of his mom. At first he maybe thought it was because, you know, coming out to a woman you had married would make you feel really guilty, but Blaine now truly believed that even if Alex and his mom weren't meant to be soul mates they were still meant to be in each other's lives.

Sighing, he slipped his Prada satchel onto his shoulder and put on his pink Ray Bans as he made his way outdoors into the comfort of his dad's BMW.

~.~

Shit. Shit. _Shit_.

For someone who praised themselves for being highly organized, Kurt was anything but this morning. He'd woken up in a stranger's apartment with a slight hangover and had returned to his apartment this morning in last night's clothes. Ew.

To top it all off he was running late, having spent too long in the shower thinking of doing some pretty nasty things to a student he hadn't even taught yet. Come to think of it, he didn't even know the boy's name. Not that Kurt was any good with names. _Who __had __I __been __with __last __night __again?_

Some old guy. Some old experienced guy. Some old experienced guy who just so happened to have a sexy son. Hey if Kurt made it to Parent Teacher night, at least he was in for an interesting conversation.

_Snap __out __of __it __Hummel! _He reprimanded himself. Quickly he gave himself a once over in the mirror (was the scarlet beret too cheesy to wear on his first day as a French teacher?) decided that he would have no time to stop by the drycleaners (the shame!) or the Lima Bean (the horror!) and that he was going to be late anyway because about half an hour in on his way to Westerville his car broke down.

Shit. Shit. Fucking goddamn—NO.

"AAARGH!" Kurt yelled out at no one in particular, because there was no one to yell out to. He had to laugh bitterly at the irony of it though—the fact that he had no idea where to start even looking at his car when his father ran a tire shop for a living.

Wait—his _father_ ran a tire shop for a living!

Kurt whipped out his phone faster than if you had told him the next Sing-A-Long Sound of Music was in town.

"Hummel's Tire and Lube."

"Dad?"

"Yeah? Everything okay? You never ring me at the shop."

"Well yeah but um… this might sound funny but in all seriousness isn't a joke. I actually need help with my car."

"Well, what's wrong with it?"

"It won't turn on."

"Have you tried turning the key in the ignition?" His high level of sarcasm deserved an award for its bitchiness. He might even win against Kurt this time.

"Funny, Dad. Absolutely hilarious. No seriously, I'm on my way to a school in Westerville and it's my first day—do you think you can come and have a look at it?"

Kurt didn't like his chances; he could hear the men at his dad's work—with Finn most likely—using all those noisy types of machinery Kurt would never be able to name if you paid him. He could barely hear Burt over the phone. "Well first thing you gotta do, is call this school and tell 'em you're gonna be running late. Second, you gotta sit tight and wait for me to send one of the boys out to you."

"One of the boys? Why can't _you_ come help me?" He knew he was sounding like a whiny teenager but he didn't want to be late on his first day. It sent a bad message to the principal, which meant he Kurt, would be less likely to teach there again and as a sub he needed all the shifts he could get. He wasn't broke by any standards but with a love for Marc Jacobs and Alexander McQueen things came with a cost.

His dad was getting impatient, "I've got a high paying customer coming in to collect his Benz. I can't leave the store. Bad rep for the business."

"And Finn?"

"Is my right hand man! Won't be able to spare him either."

Kurt swiftly swallowed the bubble of jealously that was viciously swelling inside him. Finn had been his step-brother for almost six years and Kurt still wasn't used to the bond Burt shared with him.

"Is there anything I can do in the meantime to, I don't know, check it or something?"

"Well I suppose you could try lifting the hood. I might be able to talk you through a couple of things. You do know how to lift the hood, right?"

"Again, Dad, your hilarity is award-winning." Kurt made his way to the front of the car and flipped the hood. He could do this. He'd helped out a few times in his dad's shop when he needed some extra cash, it wasn't like he was _completely_ unaware as to how a car worked and—

"Dad?"

Why could he not hear anything on the other side of the phone? Kurt checked the screen. "You have got to be joking!"

His phone, like his car, had completely died on him too. Of all the luck in the world, and of all the days for this to have happened. This couldn't be a coincidence. The powers of the universe were out to get him. Or maybe karma. Maybe he deserved what was coming to him. But that was crazy too, it's not like he had killed anyone, he had probably done a favor to the guy by being honest with him. Right?

Just as he was seriously considering leaving his car there and walking to find some help, he heard a car approaching. He breathed a sigh of relief. _Finally, __I__'__ve __caught __a __break._

He only hoped the driver in the shiny black BMW would slow down.

~.~

When Alex pulled into Hummel's Tire and Lube with the taxi, Burt was already there waiting for him by the entrance. As Burt quickly cleaned up the grease on his hands, Alex looked over to a sign that read: HUMMEL'S TIRE AND LUBE IS A FAMILY OWNED BUSINESS. Below the sign was a picture that had to at least be a couple of years old. It was of Burt and what were presumably his wife, and two teenage boys that didn't look like Burt. One of them however, Alex immediately recognized.

"Hey, funny question and all, but how do you know Kurt?"

Burt looked slightly startled from the question, "He's my son," he answered in one very determined and even breath. He suddenly didn't care how rich this guy was—he gave him the once over, "How do _you_ know Kurt?"

Alex quickly snapped out of it; last night's images were flooding his brain and he was sure Burt would not want to know how exactly he knew Kurt. He realized bringing up Kurt in the first place was probably not the smartest idea.

"Um he uh… he teaches my son French at Dalton Academy in Westerville."

Burt nodded. He still looked confused. He thought Kurt hadn't started that job yet. How would this man know that much already? He didn't feel very comfortable having – he quickly looked down at the receipt Finn had made up for him – Mr. _Anderson_ here in his shop anymore. He thrust the paper at Alex who took it without noticing the change in Burt's demeanor.

"Thanks for having this ready for me so early. She normally gives me no trouble." Alex handed out a bundle of notes adding humbly for Burt to keep the change. As he stared at the man who could not have been more opposite to Kurt he suddenly realized he may not have to forget Kurt altogether. Maybe he could strike a friendship with Burt Hummel?

Burt didn't even bother counting the notes, "That's er, quite a generous tip, don't you think? This isn't a charity organization. We make good money here."

Uh oh.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you at all, I just, I really am grateful you've got my car ready. I have to take my ex-wife to the airport and our son has my other car so…"

Well that relaxed Burt a bit. He could appreciate a good family man even if the guy was divorced. And he couldn't have had _that_ sort of relationship with Kurt if he wasn't playing for the other team. Burt didn't have to be the protective father anymore. Well, thank God for that. Suddenly, this man looked like he'd be a good friend to have.

"When I was fixing your car, I noticed you're a bit of a Red's fan." As Burt said it, he returned the team's flag he had found in the passenger seat to Alex. "My wife and step-son Finn never miss a game. How close are you and your ex-wife? Care to join us for the next match?"

Alex was taken aback by the man's kindness. Actually, the flag belonged to Blaine, but Leanne had been the one to get Blaine hooked onto baseball in the first place so he was sure neither of them would mind. "Yeah that sounds great! Do you mind if I bring Blaine? He's probably the most avid fan of the three of us."

"No, not at all, I'm sure Finn would love the company."

After agreeing on the final details of the planned outing, both men shook on it. Burt had to quickly excuse himself as his cell rang with a number he didn't recognize.

~.~

"YOU. MAKE. ME… FEEL LIKE I'M LIVIN' A TEEN -NAGE DREAM!"

Blaine would never get over the surround system in his dad's car. And the fact that Alex had let him drive it to school today? Oh my, Sebastian was going to be sooo jealous! _Serves __him __right, __the __prick._

He was so engrossed listening to Katy Perry that he almost didn't notice the cute guy with the scarlet beret standing by his car looking absolutely dismal. _Well, __hello __there_, Blaine thought. Really, who was he to forgo rescuing a hot male in distress? Especially when he looked so fine…

It took him at least three seconds after he had slowed down by the man and his car to realize who it was.

Alleluia, there was a God and he had just answered all of Blaine's prayers. True, Blaine might have been a tad too engrossed with one Katy Perry but that did not mean he had not been thinking and re-thinking how exactly he was going to serve revenge on the French teacher who thought he was too good for his dad. And now he had been served up to him on a silver platter, beret and all. His windows were tinted so he knew Kurt wouldn't be able to see him. He took a moment so that when he rolled down his windows he could memorize Kurt's expression.

The smile on the boy's face immediately flat-lined the second he looked at Blaine.

Kurt muttered something incomprehensible while Blaine did his very best to lower his sunglasses as provocatively and sexily as he good. "_Bonjour_ Kurt. We meet again. Looks like you need that lift after all…"

Kurt just stood there, his arms folded across his chest stubbornly. He tapped his foot impatiently refusing to say anything.

"Oh come on!" Blaine gestured, "It's not like Google Maps can help you out of this one. I'll even let you ride in the back if you're not comfortable being a big boy up front with me."

Kurt rolled his eyes, "Firstly as a student, you should be calling me _Monsieur __Hummel _and secondly—give me your cell".

Blaine snorted, "I'm sorry?"

"I think your _teacher_ just asked you to give him your cell. You know, it's that thing you usually keep in your back pocket that goes off to some top forty hit every time your girlfriend calls you to tell you she's broken a nail."

Blaine's voice became slow and sultry, "I don't date girls."

Kurt blushed, "Of course you don't," he mumbled to himself. "Now, if I'm going to ride to school with you, you need to agree to one thing."

"Go on," Blaine winked.

"You need to shut up and drive."

"Where's the fun in that?" Blaine pouted as he handed over his cell. Kurt quickly called his father.

"Hey, Dad."

"Kurt, your cell, I tried calling back but it was my dead."

"As dead as my car. Look I've managed to get a lift to school. I'll give you the details of my car's location and its fine if one of the boys comes and picks it up later."

"You've changed your tune quickly."

"I just really need to get to class, Dad."

He bade farewell, snatched his satchel and books out of his bag and slumped—passenger side—next to Blaine.

"Drive." Kurt instructed, "Don't say a word."

"You know that's not fair. Teachers aren't meant to be biased towards students. You need to treat us equally."

Kurt sighed, "I'm sorry. I guess we just met under unusual circumstances. And I'm sorry for what happened with your dad, I really am. But I'm your teacher, Mr."—

He trailed off suddenly realizing he didn't know the boy's name and looked to him for some sort of introduction.

"Blaine," he offered.

"Right—_Blaine_. And that's the only relationship we're ever gonna have."

Blaine snorted, "What makes you think I want a relationship with you? Don't be so ego-centric."

"I get little boys. Trust me, I know boy on boy flirting when I see it."

"I'm not a little boy, Kurt. I'm eighteen."

"It's Monsieur," Kurt reminded him, a little annoyed. "And how are you still in school if you're already eighteen?"

Blaine shrugged, "They made me stay back. Apparently I suck at French. You're probably going to end up as my remedial teacher too."

Kurt fidgeted with the straps of his bag. He hadn't considered spending more time with this boy than he absolutely had to. He could feel Blaine's eyes on him and became immediately distracted. _Don__'__t __think __of __your __shower __this __morning __Kurt, __just __don__'__t._

"Is something wrong, Blaine?" he said out loud, hoping Blaine would stop staring at him now.

Blaine shifted his eyes back to the road, "No. I just noticed you have the iPhone."

"Yes. What of it?"

"Well, I have a USB cable that I can connect to my car's adaptor if you wanted to charge it? It's in my glove box. You'll have to reach for it so I can concentrate on the road."

Kurt sighed mentally. Reaching for the glove box of Blaine's car meant he would have to duck, hover across Blaine's chest and skillfully reach for the cable without touching him. Yeah, he could do that.

His first moves were a little tentative—he wasn't entirely sure if he trusted Blaine to not make an inappropriate innuendo about this—but Blaine really did seem like he needed to concentrate on the road so Kurt continued to move forward.

"Kurt, you're going to have duck lower, you're really tall and I won't be able to see the road otherwise. I don't want to have to swerve the car."

"Fine." Kurt mumbled ducking lower reaching out to open the box. An old lady pulled up besides Blaine and from the angle she was looking at, immediately widened her eyes and turned away. Blaine winked at her.

"You're going to have to hurry that up, Kurt. People are starting to get jealous of this awesome blowjob you're not giving me."

"It's Monsieur!" Kurt yelled just as Blaine accelerated the car and hit a speed bump, meaning that Kurt's face landed straight into Blaine's lap.

Flushed with embarrassment, Kurt made a grab for the cable, plugged one end into his cell and red-faced gave Blaine the biggest death stare as he continued to not control his laughter.

"Don't even start!" Kurt yelled, "You planned that!"

But Blaine was double backed with laughter, "Sorry, _Monsieur._ I promise we're almost at school now. You'll need to report to the principal's office immediately. All teachers are required to on their first day."

They hadn't even reached the front gates when Blaine had slowed down to give way for the traffic and Kurt had already left the car, slamming the door behind him.

"You're welcome!" Blaine called out but Kurt did not reply. _Geez __this __guy __is __not __only __arrogant __but __obnoxious __too._ Blaine usually hated it when guys were like that but Kurt seemed to intrigue him. As he pulled into the Dalton Academy car park, he spotted Sebastian nearby, resting by a tree. The smile was still plastered on Blaine's face as he approached his fellow Warbler.

"Sweet ride, Anderson," Sebastian approved, "What's Daddy trying to get you to cover now?"

Blaine ignored him, "Hey thanks for meeting me out front today. I kinda need you."

Sebastian snorted, "I've waited a long time to hear you say that Blaine. But unfortunately your dapper schoolboy charm has sorta lost its effect on me."

At first Blaine looked confused—but then he realized. "What? No, I need you to help me get revenge on a teacher." He saw Kurt walking up towards the principal's lounge as instructed and pointed him out to Bas, "_That_ teacher."

"Oh he's cute. Not my type though. What exactly did you have in mind?"

"Well he's throwing the whole teacher-student card at me. But I know I can get into his pants. Actually I might not even have to. I just want to get him close enough so that I can break his little heart the way he did to my… friend."

Sebastian broke into a wide smile, "Wow, Blaine. I never thought you had this side to you. I have to admit—I'm a little turned on."

Blaine ignored the comment, "So will you help me?"

Sebastian straightened his tie as he took a step closer to Blaine, "If I do—what's in it for me?"

Blaine gulped. He could do this. It was for Alex, for his _dad_. He'd give up anything. Rising confidence, he took a step towards Sebastian. They were so close now that their chests were touching. Blaine's voice broke into a forced, yet sexy, whisper. "I'll give you something no other boy will ever be able to get."

Sebastian grinned evilly, "Blaine Warbler, are you suggesting you'll give me your V-card? God, it's been a while since I collected one of those. You have yourself a deal."

Blaine knew it looked like he was being easy and he was the type to want to wait for the right time but he was still a horny teenage boy, there was no way he was going to college still a virgin and hey, Sebastian was cute, and if Blaine was petitioning to get into Kurt's pants, he wanted _some_kind of experience.

And of course, to do that, nobody could tutor him better than Sebastian, the master of breaking hearts.

~.~


	3. Jar of Hearts

**The Stranger's Son**

_paperstylehearts_

**A/N:**Oh wow, thank you guys so much! I actually had this ready within days of publishing chapter two but as cliché as it sounds, for the first time in my seven years on fanfiction, my computer caught a virus. It happened as I was downloading gLee so maybe the universe is trying to tell me something… then it magically disappeared so I'm uploading this in case it decides to come back, so if you don't hear from me, assume that it has :/

Also, for some reason every time I use _italics, _after I upload the words on ffic, it groups them . Ugh. I apologize for that. 0_x If anyone knows how to make it stop doing that, please let me know. EDIT. So apparently I have to use html codes; what a waste of time…

Thank you for your reviews! Special mentions to my all time favorite person **clovrboy** for being awesome and **thomasinacoverly** who made me more excited about this story than any one person should actually be.

…Chapter Three... _Jar __of __Hearts_

Kurt was still fuming by the time he reached the principal's office. Or was it Dumbledore's? There were no noticeable differences as he waltzed inside the round office. Honestly, some of the contraptions in the room looked like they belonged to the wizarding world. The principal's washbasin even looked like a Pensieve and there were enough books in here to open a library. Portraits of principals past adorned the office—but Kurt let the Harry Potter fan in him slide, right now he was a man on a mission. The secretary hadn't even bothered to stop him because there was no way she was going to disturb someone who looked that angry.

"Principal Saunders, Kurt Hummel." He shook his hand without the slightest smile on his face, "A word, please?"

The principal merely looked at him with a vague sense of interest, "And what can I do for you Mr. Hummel?"

"It's my first day. I'm substituting for Mademoiselle Rousseau. I was hoping we could go over the contract and talk about any necessary changes."

"Ah, Mr. Hummel. My apologies. I was still expecting Mademoiselle Holliday." He looked Kurt up and down, "You don't have one of those—alternate—names on other days do you?"

Kurt looked very confused but shook his head and decided the principal was just a tired old man. He then made a gesture for Kurt to sit down which he gratefully accepted.

Saunders quickly proved he would be wasting no time with their discussion. "Let me get straight to the point. I realize you're new to Dalton and I normally don't expect this of any of my substitute teachers but I might need your tenure here to be longer than you are normally required for. My only question is, are you available?"

Kurt thought back to his completely lonely fifth floor hotel apartment, how despite how vastly decorated it was, that there really was nothing to go back to (or to look forward to) and then he nodded.

"Very well. Your contract requires you to be available to work for the rest of the school year as Dalton's French teacher." He pushed a paper towards Kurt. "Judging by your previous academics and experience, I assume you are more than fit for this role."

Kurt almost choked, "You're offering me a full time job? You haven't even seen me teach yet."

Principal Saunders cleared his throat, "I'm sure this offer will be more than suitable for you." He then turned the forwarded piece of paper around so that the writing was facing Kurt who peered down staring wide-eyed at the offer he had been given. Well, Saunders was right about one thing. The offer _was_ more than suitable. Kurt couldn't believe his luck, particularly with the morning he had. Ah, this was the universe's way of apologizing for being so harsh to him today. But still… he was a teacher, goddamnit. Just a French teacher. A full time French teacher who no longer needed his best friend Julie to buy him a new suit anymore…

And though he had initially seemed to be in a bit of a rush, Saunders took the time to explain himself now. "Miss Holliday took the liberty of sending me over your impressive resume. I believe she may have been scared away from the length of time I needed her here so she nominated you as her best opt out. It's a pity she could only stay for a maximum of three months. The boys took a rare shining to her, particularly the school's glee club, our fine and reputable Dalton Academy Warblers. She assured me, after her, you were the next best tutor to mentor these students."

"Does the school need a glee club teacher too?"

Saunders smiled, "The way our curriculum works it so happens that one is not necessary. At Dalton, we have an elected student council composed of senior Warblers who direct the club. However, yes, a teacher will step in as and when required to escort them to and from competitions and so forth."

Kurt didn't even stop to take as breath. "I offer myself for the role, sir. If it's vacant. And if it isn't—give me the name and number of the teacher that has occupied the role and I promise you I'll convince them otherwise."

All in the name of dramatic effect, Kurt whipped out his iPhone—but was suddenly reminded of an incident that had only occurred moments ago. He was also suddenly reminded about why he had even come to have a word with the principal in the first place… His face fell. Saunders was talking to him but all his words seemed to fly over Kurt's head.

"Mr. Hummel?"

"Hmm?"

"I said I was sure we could arrange for you to meet the Warblers... Is something the matter?"

"Principal Saunders, before I sign this contract, I do have one request…"

"Yes, we have staff parking available. And a coffee machine."

"No, not that. Is there any way you'd be able to excuse a student from my classes?"

Saunders' expression was evidence that he had probably never been asked such a question before. "In Heaven's name—why on Earth would you want that? Is this student causing you grief? All I need is a name and I'll bring him down here immediately! This kind of behavior is intolerable at Dalton."

"No, it's not that. It's just—I'm a very private man and through no fault of his own, this student has somehow become involved with my personal life and I no longer think it's appropriate for me to teach him."

"His name, Hummel?"

"Blaine. I'm not sure what his surname is but if you can bring up the senior's files, I can point him out to you."

"Wait—you must be referring to Blaine Anderson. We only have one senior with that name. I just—I can't understand why, of all students, you wouldn't want _him_ in your class."

"Well as I explained before" –

"Blaine Anderson is a model student. He brought the Warblers to Nationals three years in a row and they even took it home last year. He's highly looked up to by his peers. He's received distinctions in all of his AP classes and we had him transferred to Paris for three months earlier this year when a school in France paid for his scholarship to study there. Personally, I think he is a pleasant young gentleman with extraordinary manners and a perfect young ambassador for this school."

Kurt just sat there stunned. Was Saunders really talking about the _same_ Blaine Anderson? Kurt couldn't believe it. Luckily he'd watched enough _Gossip __Girl _to know what to say next. "So exactly how much dowry does Blaine's father pay to this school?"

Saunders' eyes narrowed. "That information is classified—and irrelevant."

"Well it must be a pretty sum for you to be able to have enough balls to lie about Blaine like that."

"_Mister __Hummel_, excuse yourself! And do _not_ forget who you're talking to!" Saunders' grip on Kurt's unsigned contract suddenly became tighter. Kurt took no notice.

"I have it on good authority that Blaine's father is a rich, rich man. I also have it on good authority that Blaine is repeating a year at Dalton because amongst other things, he failed at French and has to now take remedial classes. Furthermore, he does not know his place and is by far nothing short of an arrogant, spoilt little boy."

Principal Saunders eyed Kurt very carefully. He could not afford to throw the young man out of his school as Dalton was desperate for a French teacher ever since Mademoiselle Rousseau had been on pending investigation with the school board. But he would not tolerate this inappropriate attitude from him either. Tired eyes locked on Kurt's determined ones, he pressed a button on his desk-phone. "Shirley? Can you locate Blaine Anderson's student file for me and bring it to my office please?"

"Right away, Principal Saunders."

The stout woman wandered into the office and handed Saunders a thick manila folder. Kurt eyed it curiously and could tell from where he sat that this file belonged to Blaine. He could also tell from the corner of his eye that the woman was staring at him. He turned to face her and gave her a forced smile without realizing she was the very same old woman who had seen the incident between him and Blaine this morning.

"Perhaps," suggested Saunders now giving the folder to Kurt, "before your first class with Mr. Anderson, you should occupy your time with some light reading."

Kurt took the folder apprehensively and opened the front cover. An array of Blaine's school photos graced the first pages including his most recent professional school photograph. At first Kurt was confused—he wasn't exactly sure why Saunders was showing him this—but as he flicked the pages he suddenly found exactly what it was Saunders meant for him to see.

And even Kurt, who could always manage to find something to say, could not bring himself to close his mouth from shock.

~.~

Blaine and Sebastian were sitting and chatting in the glee rehearsal room waiting for the other Warblers to arrive—but they weren't expecting their classmates any time soon. In fact they had come here early, straight after their planned meeting in the car park, so that they could talk privately about the apparent 'amazing' plan Sebastian had already come up with to help Blaine.

"Well, that was fast," Blaine said, a little in awe but mostly just surprised.

"I can't contain how genius I am," Sebastian said smugly, "It's almost a curse." As Blaine swallowed up his annoyance at Sebastian's arrogance he also tried to look deep down for some of the patience he held for the boy altogether and waited for him to continue.

"So—I won't know the finer details of the plan until we can suss out some more about this guy but I vote, now that we know for sure Holly isn't returning here, that _he_ be our glee teacher."

Blaine arched an eyebrow, "We don't _need_ a glee teacher. Also his name is Kurt Hummel—and since when did you become on a first name basis with Miss Holliday?"

"She had a thing for me." This was a lie of course and Blaine knew it but there was no point in pressing the matter. "Anyway," Sebastian concluded, "the more excuses you have to spend time with this guy the better. You want to get know his character and to do that—you gotta find out what he's like. Learn exactly what it is about him that's going to be easiest to crush. His vulnerabilities, his insecurities. What do you know about him already?"

"That he has an iPhone?" Blaine answered out loud. _And __that __he __dresses __amazingly._

Sebastian shrugged, "It'll do. We have to find a way to steal it."

"_What_?"

"It's going to be loaded with information, Blaine. An iPhone is a very personal item."

Blaine shrugged. Maybe trusting Sebastian wasn't such a good idea. He wanted to get his revenge on Kurt yes, but the only thing he planned to steal was his heart. He didn't want to have to make him suffer too much.

Despite only ever being aware of himself, Sebastian seemed to notice that Blaine felt uncomfortable. "Would you relax? We'll return it before he even notices it's gone."

"Whatever." Blaine shrugged trying to look impartial about the whole thing. "Tell me what else you've got."

Sebastian rubbed his hands together. Blaine supposed this was because it was a little cool inside but Sebastian looked comically diabolical. Blaine grinned to himself as Sebastian went on.

"So. We get him to partake in glee club. We steal his iPhone for information. And I know it's worn out on me but you gotta turn that dapper school boy charm on again."

Blaine crossed his arms. It _was_ kinda cool in the rehearsal room. "What do you mean?"

"I mean you've got to be a model student. Stints like you pulled in the car this morning, while hilarious, are only going to push your boy away. By now, Saunders' has probably already told Hummel what a good little boy you are. So show him that. Be the teacher's pet, Blaine. In every sense of the word. He probably thinks Saunders' is out of his mind saying all that stuff about you, so prove him wrong. 'Cos when you do, that Hummel kid's gonna lap it all up. I know he's got a baby face but that kid's fresh out of uni. There's no way he could be anymore than a couple of years older than us."

Blaine nodded, "Yeah, he's twenty-two."

Now it was Sebastian's turn to be surprised—and of course, a little awed. "I'm amazed you know so much about your subject already Blaine. I really must be a good teacher."

"Well I've got to admit, apart from the phone stealing, I kinda like your plan, Bas."

"Of course you do. Now when Hummel sees that side of you, there's no way he's gonna turn down your advances, thus making your path into his pants, a lot easier."

Again, all Blaine could do was nod. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now all this planning—does it come with a reward?"

And although Blaine was slow on the uptake, he hadn't known what Sebastian actually meant, he quickly caught on when the taller boy's arms wrapped around Blaine's waist. Blaine tried to smile but he felt uncomfortable and even though Sebastian was cute he made Blaine want to vomit and date a girl.

_Well Blaine, you're the idiot who suggested you'd sleep with him if he helped you. _

Although—it wasn't Blaine's fault that he could only use sex to bargain with when it came to Sebastian. Because at the end of the day, Sebastian was a sex-starved shark. A born predator, he swam around in a jar of hearts. (Incidentally, also the title of a song that Jake, one of Sebastian's many targets, had appropriately sung once at Warbler's practice after Bas had told him he was bored of him). Sebastian wasn't all bad it was just… he was the kind of guy who even found thrills in hunting his prey. But Blaine wasn't like that. He was just an angry beaver going after the naughty baby penguin that had hurt his daddy unicorn. Snapping back to the fact that Sebastian still had his arms around him, Blaine closed his eyes. Maybe if he tried really hard, he could pretend Sebastian was someone else. And then the fact that Sebastian was now nuzzling his nose against Blaine's cheek wouldn't be so half bad. Or the fact that Sebastian now had his hands cupping Blaine's face and was so close to him (close enough that he could feel his breath), wouldn't be so uncomfortable either. "C'mon Blaine," he whispered, "If you want me to stick around for dessert, you gotta let me taste the entrée first…"

He didn't even wait for Blaine's consent. Before Blaine even knew what was happening, they were kissing. He didn't stop Sebastian because Blaine convinced himself that after all his help he probably owed Sebastian this much. The kiss wasn't half that bad either. Blaine may still be a virgin but he'd spent enough time with guys to know the difference between a good and bad kiss, and Sebastian might be a douche, but he was also a damn good kisser.

~.~

Kurt's first class was with a budding group of freshman whose blazers were far too long and haircuts too short. Although the look was cute—in the same way Rachel convincing Finn for the both of them to wear matching t-shirts last Hummel-Hudson Christmas was—none of them appealed to him whatsoever, not even the young gentleman who reminded him a great deal of a male version of his old crush Sam Evans.

"Au revoir class! Please have your homework ready for me by Friday!"

Not one of the nervous boys bothered to comment but Kurt was unmoved by this. His next two periods were free in which he considered calling Julie, or at least his father to find out how long his car was going to take, but he had so much work to prepare for his next class he found himself pressed for time. He cheered up slightly when a passing junior complimented his beret. _I __knew __it!_ Kurt thought to himself, _I __knew __it __wasn__'__t _cheesy_._

As the day came to a close, Kurt was actually rather proud of himself. True his head was killing him and all he wanted to do was crawl into an empty class and sleep. But at least he hadn't run into Blaine since this morning.

And of course he had just jinxed it.

Kurt couldn't even understand how he had overlooked it but he realized with increased trepidation that he would have to face Blaine come his last class. _How __do __I __even __mentally __prepare __myself __for __this?_ _How __do __I __look __him __in __the __eye __and __face __him __knowing __what __I __know__…_

As the seniors started filling his class, it became very obvious to Kurt that Blaine was indeed admired by his peers. He was laughing and joking with his friends as they entered. Perhaps Kurt wouldn't have to pay any attention to this kid at all. (It was a lot easier to not think of Blaine like _that_ if Kurt kept referring to him as 'just some kid').

Even if said kid decided that the seat closet to the front would be the best place to sit.

Kurt sighed. He started like he did all other classes—he wrote his name on the blackboard. And when he turned around everyone was sitting upright, ready for his instructions.

~.~

"That was a great class you taught today, Monsieur Hummel."

Kurt had watched as all the boys filed out of the room, had pretended not to notice that Blaine had purposefully taken longer to pack so he would remain behind, had tried very hard not to acknowledge the way he slowly strutted over to Kurt's desk…

"Merci," Kurt accepted, but complimenting Kurt could not be the only reason Blaine had stayed back. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Actually, I was wondering when you were going to start those remedial classes."

Kurt almost snorted, "Well, as we're both very well aware, you hardly need them."

Wow, Sebastian was right. He had warned Blaine this might happen, that Kurt would already know this much. Lucky he knew exactly what to say next. "Well as it turns out, despite living in France, I'm still no master of the language. I could really use the extra help"— He was distracted when he noticed that Kurt was eyeing him skeptically but he quickly let it slide. "Look I learnt more from your class in this one day than I did all of last year with Mademoiselle Rousseau. You're an excellent teacher."

There was a small pause in which both Blaine and Kurt shared studious smiles. At least, until Blaine broke into a whisper, "Honestly—I just want a chance to spend more time with you."

Kurt sighed uncomfortably. Had the smile been too much? "Blaine, we've been through this. I haven't even been here a day and you're making me sound like a broken record. I'm your" –

—"teacher, I know. But again, stop with the assumptions. I'm not looking for a relationship. We got off on the wrong footing and I just want a chance for us to start again. I apologize for my behavior this morning. It was completely inappropriate. I was cheesed with the way you handled things with my dad and I'm sorry."

Kurt had to admit—Blaine was very charming. But he couldn't shake the feeling that he had a secret agenda. No one changed this quickly, not even Idina Menzel swapping costumes betweens takes for Wicked. But for now, he was resigned to give in. "Fine. It looks like you're in luck. The contract I signed this morning makes it mandatory for me to teach remedial classes. Apparently a lot of the students here suffer with their French. I'll put a notice out on the board soon. You're free to sign up if you wish."

Blaine nodded graciously, "Thank you. Now, I do have one more thing I was hoping you could help me with."

And really, how could Kurt say no when he asked him so politely like that? How could he refuse those gorgeous light brown eyes? "Yes?" he asked his voice inappropriately low for someone who had recently been tossing the teacher-card everywhere.

Blaine grinned all too confident. "I know school has ended for the day but I have Warbler's rehearsals now. I was hoping you might be interested in accompanying me? I'm auditioning for a solo and I could really use the support. Also, I heard you used to be a key member of the group Dalton is up against in sectionals and I wouldn't mind some advice either."

"Well," Kurt said, taken back again by Blaine's charm. "I suppose I do know a thing or two about glee club. I'll be happy to look in on your rehearsal." Kurt didn't add that he knew Blaine was the whole reason the Warblers did so well. No need to swell the boy's head. And this way, Kurt had found his way into glee club without having to convince another teacher to give up their role.

"Excellent!" Blaine enthused, "And um, you know, if you er… need a lift after class–"

"Blaine," Kurt warned, not entirely sure why he was so against the proposal. He supposed it was because he was still skeptical over Blaine's sudden changed attitude. It's not like his classes could really have that effect on people. Because there was no way Kurt would admit he was that good, even if his salary here was ridiculously awesome.

"C'mon, hear me out first," Blaine pleaded, "No funny business, I promise. But if you still feel more comfortable making your own way home, that's great too." Blaine glanced down at his watch; he was giddy with excitement that everything was going in his favor right now but the Warblers meant everything to him and he really didn't want to be late. "Shall we?" he asked Kurt and led the way out without waiting for a response as Kurt gathered the last of his things and followed him out.

"Blaine?" Kurt asked walking just that much faster to catch up with him. The hallways were still occupied with lingering students. Did no one want to go home around here? Heaven knows on the days Kurt didn't have glee club, he was the first one out of McKinley.

"Hmm?" Blaine asked looking forward to the crowds their last performance was bound to draw; there were still quite a few students around waiting for the Warblers no doubt.

"Between you and me, why _is_ Mademoiselle Rousseau on pending investigation?"

"Funny thing that," Blaine smiled, opening the doors to the cozy rehearsal room, "She was apparently involved with a student."

~.~


	4. Something's Coming

**The Stranger's Son**

_paperstylehearts_

…Chapter Four… _Something__'__s __Coming_

The idle chatter that had surrounded the rehearsal room immediately subsided the moment Blaine entered. Kurt could hardly contain the awe he held in that moment for Blaine with the respect the Warblers were showing him. Except everyone in the room was looking at Kurt.

Three of the Warblers were sitting at a desk at the front of the room, one of them with a gavel in his hand. He looked the most serious of them all. His eyes were still on Kurt when he spoke, "Blaine, we're glad you could finally join us but you know the rules. We can't allow any new members to the club this close to sectionals."

"Relax Wes," Blaine assured, "This is Monsieur Hummel, our new French teacher. I invited him to look in our auditions today."

The change in Wes was immediate, "Ah bonjour Monsieur. And welcome to glee club. Will you be escorting us to sectionals?"

"Oui!" Kurt replied cheerily, "It will be my pleasure to. Now let's see what you've got."

"Please," a friendly darker boy invited, "Take a seat. Nick Warbler, you're up first."

The boy named Nick got up looking a little nervous. Kurt took a seat closest to the door, as the CD started and recognized the first notes of Coldplay's _Yellow_ as it began to play. Two minutes in and there was no doubt that Nick's voice was amazing. All trace of nervousness had left him the moment he had begun singing and when he finished Kurt took no hesitation in applauding him. It was clear that Nick really wanted the solo.

Next up was Thad, a sophomore Kurt remembered from his previous French class, followed by a blonde boy named Jeff who Kurt recognized too; he was the student who had complimented his beret earlier. The Warblers were all just as fantastic as each other and Kurt couldn't make up his mind about who deserved the solo, because so far, he wasn't sure who he had liked best; he was amazed by all the performances he had seen. And Kurt loved voicing his opinion but he was glad he didn't have to make one this afternoon.

A round-faced boy who reminded Kurt a great deal of Neville Longbottom – his name was Trent – was up next but he announced that he was withdrawing from the auditions after "some thinking." Kurt couldn't blame him—he'd probably be tempted to withdraw too if he was made to go on after performances like the ones he had just seen. But then again, Kurt knew his own voice and range were perfect. God knows, _he_ was the type of performer who made others nervous to go on after him.

As another student of his – Sebastian Smythe – got up to perform, Kurt found himself wondering when Blaine was going to get up. He knew the boy was good, knew the Warblers loved him and that it was _his_ solo that had won the Warblers the championship last year. So he couldn't see why anyone would _not_ want to see him perform after learning all of that. And yes, that was the only reason he was excited to hear him sing. Or at least that's what he kept telling himself.

Although all the performances so far had been exceptional, Kurt didn't think much of Sebastian's voice. It was okay but definitely not solo worthy. In fact there was no way that voice could win the Warblers any competition. The only solo Sebastian would be worthy of was in front of an elderly audience at a nursing home—and then only if they took to his meerkat face.

Kurt's feelings of course, had nothing to do with the fact that the whole time Sebastian had sung he had only had eyes for Blaine. Kurt couldn't tell if Blaine was annoyed or flattered by the flirting—his reactions shouldn't mean anything to Kurt anyway—but Kurt was immediately distracted by the fact that it was now Blaine's turn to sing.

"Blaine?" Wes asked, "We don't have any record of the song you'll be singing today."

But Blaine just shrugged, "I'm sure you'll recognize it the second it starts playing."

Well, Kurt didn't know about the Warblers but he certainly knew the song Blaine had chosen within the first two seconds. _Something__'__s __Coming_. It was only from none other than _West __Side __Story_, a show inspired by his favorite nineteen twenty's musicals. Only—one thing was incredibly off.

He'd never heard it sung this incredibly before.

In fact, all Kurt could think about was that Blaine was the most perfect Tony he had ever heard. And Kurt had seen and heard a lot of Tonys. All of a sudden Nick, Thad, Jeff… they failed in comparison to the way Blaine was singing now. He was so expressive; there was so much passion in his voice. The others had sung because they had wanted a solo. Blaine sung because it was like he was born to. At the end of his performance, students rose giving him a standing ovation, cheering both enthusiastically and proud. And though Wes had told them they would have to wait till tomorrow to hear the council's decision, it was clear who the solo belonged to.

Wes knocked the gavel down thrice—actually a bit too enthusiastically, Kurt thought—and though the Warblers had been quite enthused over Blaine's performance, rubbing his hair and patting his back, the moment Wes' gavel hit they had become silent and went filing out of the room.

Kurt wasn't sure where they were going or what was going on so he half stood, half sat where he was but like in his class before, Blaine pretended to distract himself in order to stay behind and approached Kurt all smiles.

"So what did you think?" Blaine asked; he was still unambiguously riding off the high of his performance. But Kurt was still too amazed to form a proper sentence, "I thought it was—well you were… I mean, um, where is everyone going?"

Blaine had an easy explanation waiting, "The Warblers are like rock stars here. I don't know if you noticed but a lot of students hang around after school. They stay back just to see our final performance every day. But, you know, it would mean a lot to me of you gave me some sort of idea as to how I went back then."

Kurt tried not to laugh, "You mean the reaction everyone just had to your performance wasn't any indication? Blaine, you don't need my approval or my advice. You killed that solo. I would pay to see that."

Kurt had to stop himself from continuing before he said anything that Blaine might take the other way. Oh, but if he could capture the look on his face right now – Kurt expected a smug look but Blaine was humbly pleased. It was nothing short of drop dead gorgeous.

"Coming from you, that means a lot." Blaine said. Then he paused, "Or are you just saying that because you're my teacher and are meant to encourage me?"

The comment caught Kurt off guard, "N-no not at all. I really liked it. And, you know, as your teacher I should only be honest with you. And I honestly think that no one deserves this solo more than you do. Now let's get this star Warbler to that last rehearsal before all of Dalton breaks into a panic!"

Yep, there was no doubt about it. Blaine was very pleased. "Do you need help carrying your stuff?"

Before Kurt could respond, Blaine had already picked up all of his French books leaving behind one very familiar looking manila folder. Kurt caught Blaine's expression and swiftly made to hide it but the look on Blaine's face was evidence that it was too late. For someone who had been so enthusiastic and happy mere seconds before, it was surprising how fast his expression had changed.

"What are you doing with that?" Blaine asked; his voice was low and unsteady.

And after giving Blaine the whole spiel on honesty Kurt thought the truth would be best here. "Principal Saunders gave it to me. After the little shenanigan in your car today I went to see him to see if I could excuse myself from being your teacher and his passed this on for me to read and"—

Kurt trailed off; it was clear Blaine wasn't listening to him. He eyed him curiously. Blaine looked hurt yes, but even a little broken. "That's supposed to be confidential." he muttered. And although Blaine knew he was being a hypocrite after making plans to steal Kurt's iPhone, he couldn't contain the feelings that were suddenly threatening to explode from within him. "God, I'm such an idiot! Now I can finally see _why_ you're being so nice to me. But don't for one second think you've got me all figured out, all right? If you think you can read a couple of papers and understand shit about me, then you're wrong. It doesn't work like that. You don't know _anything_ about me! You will never understand."

He wasn't sure why he was reacting so strongly but before he knew what he was doing he had thrown Kurt's books onto the floor, picked up the manila folder and flung it into the air.

Kurt just stood there stunned. "Blaine!" – But the boy was already walking out of the room.

"Please know, I don't judge you at all, I—"

"Make your own way home," Blaine ended, obviously pissed, leaving Kurt to the mess in the rehearsal room.

~.~

"This is perfect!" Sebastian concluded, "He's going to come _running_ after you now."

Blaine and Sebastian were standing by the BMW; Sebastian had realized Blaine wasn't himself during their last performance and, more importantly, that Kurt wasn't there so he convinced him to tell him what was wrong.

Blaine shook his head, "You don't get it. I was _angry_, Bas. I threw all of his stuff onto the floor and just left him there. I'm in half minds to go up to Principal Saunders now and demand why he thinks it necessary to show new teachers my file. But there's another part of me that just wants to bring Alex into this—he'd give the school a piece of his mind."

Sebastian may have been a shark, but really he was a shark wearing a fluffy pink boa and though he'd never admit it out loud – particularly because he didn't believe in all that _feelings_ crap – he cared about Blaine. "This has really got you down, hasn't it?"

Blaine just stood there with his face lowered. He did not say anything.

"C'mon – I'm taking you out tonight."

Blaine waved his hands lazily in protest, "I don't know, Bas. I've got a shit ton of homework to do and I promised Dad I'd be home tonight so we could catch up on _The __Bachelorette _and" –

"Ssh," Bas insisted, placing his index finger against Blaine's bottom lip, "Just relax. I am taking you out, okay? It's only five right now so go on home, change out of your uniform, get something to eat and tell your Dad I'm picking you up at nine."

Blaine sighed. He really wasn't in any mood to go anywhere. He just wanted to crawl into his room and disappear. But maybe Bas was right. Maybe what he needed was to get out. If nothing else it would set his mind back on the path of seducing Kurt. If that was even an option anymore. But if anyone knew how to get him back on that path, it was Bas. So he looked into the boy's eyes and nodded. Sebastian patted him on the shoulder, "I'll see you tonight," he said.

"See ya."

"Oh and Blaine?" Sebastian added as he made his way over to his shiny car, "Bring that fake ID of yours."

~.~

It had been fifteen minutes since Blaine had thrown his file into the air and walked out of the room. And for those entire fifteen minutes, Kurt had done nothing but stare at the mess on the floor. He was too lost in thought; Blaine's previous words ever present in his mind.

"_You don't know anything about me! You will never understand!"_

But he wanted to. He closed his eyes and bit his lip. What a messed up situation, Kurt thought. As a teacher, he was sworn not to get so involved with any of his students. But maybe this didn't count. Because, and for however briefly it was, he had known Blaine outside of Dalton's walls – before he had even stepped into the school and signed on as the boy's teacher. He had fantasized about him in his goddamn shower for crying out loud before he had even known his name. But the fact of the matter was none of this gave him any reason to further invest in his… interest. He had to let it go. He had to start treating Blaine the same way he would treat any other student – especially if he wanted to keep his job.

Okay so for starters – what would he do if any other student had flung his property as rebelliously as Blaine just had? Detention, probably. But Blaine hadn't acted out entirely without reason. He'd had the right to be upset. And Kurt would have to consider in that factor to this equation. So the question now was - what did he do?

He was still stuck for an answer but he thought picking up Blaine's photos was a good place to start. It was after all the first thing he had been introduced to when he first opened the folder. He noticed that while all the photos were school shots of Blaine, they only had one significant difference: the boy seemed to grow fabulously sexier in each one. Kurt blushed, willing himself not to fall into another inappropriate daydream.

Kristin Chenoweth's voice suddenly snapped Kurt out of his reverie and he realized his cell was ringing.

"H-hello? Kurt speaking?"

"Kurtsie, Kurtsie, Kurtsie," disapproved the female on the other line, "We've been through this. Seriously lame way to answer the phone dude. LAME."

Kurt sighed, "What can I do for you now, Holly? I won't be able to cover you for a while, you know that. It's thanks to you I have a full time job and I wasn't even looking for it."

"I know right? Which is why I should be the one asking what I can do for you."

"Huh?"

"I concede. I owe you big time."

"Well you can start by picking me up from school. My car broke down on the way here and unless I call a cab, I've got no way of getting home."

"You don't need to ask me twice! I'll be there in half an hour. And keep your phone on you so I can call you when I get in. I don't want any of the staff recognizing me at Dalton. I just don't want to have _those_ conversations right now, you know? I mean, talk about awkward…"

Kurt agreed and after hanging up resumed recollecting Blaine's file.

~.~

Holly arrived within twenty minutes. Kurt had used the time planning out a rough map for his next few classes when she called. He couldn't be more grateful to get out of Dalton. It had been a ridiculously long day, he was still tired from the previous night, and he spent much too much time here after the bell had gone.

"Man, am I glad to see you."

"Most men usually are," Holly winked, "Lovin' the beret by the way. You always dress so fabulously, I'm so insanely jealous. C'mon throw your stuff in the back. I'm taking you out for that coffee I promised you."

It was six o'clock by the time Kurt and Holly reached the Lima Bean. The ride hadn't seemed very long as they had spent the time laughing and joking with each other after singing several Broadway duets together.

"Don't even think of paying," Kurt warned Holly as he made their order. "Thanks to you, Louis Vuitton will be seeing my face soon enough."

"Sounds like a date I'd want to be on. Speaking of dates – how's the love life going?"

Kurt rolled his eyes, "Why are women always so interested to know if I'm dating someone or not?"

"Calm the farm boy," Holly suggested leading them to a table right in the center of the shop with their coffees, "It's only so we know whether or not we have the green light to hook you up with someone."

Kurt quickly swallowed the large gulp of coffee he had taken in just to make sure he could squash any ideas she was having. "No – no more setting me up. I've learnt my lesson. If I want to meet someone, I can't rely on my girlfriends to hook me up. Things can't get any more confusing than they already are."

"You're telling me," Holly mumbled, clearly confused herself and that's when Kurt caved. He told her everything. He left out what he had discovered in Blaine's file though but made it clear that Blaine hadn't acted out without reason.

"So let me get this straight. You had a one night stand with your student's dad, and then said student started flirting with you, only to suddenly change his attitude and become a model student, except now he's pissed at you, after taking you on a rendezvous to the school's glee club, because you knew something about him he hadn't realized you did?"

Kurt shrugged. "I guess." Holly had actually summed it up pretty well. "It was more like he wasn't comfortable with me knowing." He took a few more sips of his coffee; Holly had finished hers while he had been explaining everything. She eyed him quizzically, "Can I ask you something?"

Kurt nodded.

"Why do you even care?" she said.

"About what?"

"About the fact that Blaine's upset. Unless…" She took one look at Kurt's face and it was suddenly very clear to her. "Oh my God – you have a crush on him!"

"W-what? No, I don't!"

But she was smiling cheekily at him.

"Holly! I _don__'__t_!"

And he wasn't getting anything past her. She winked at him as he tried to hide behind his coffee which caused Kurt to break, "What does it matter anyway? I'm his teacher, I've slept with his _dad_ and I would lose my job."

"Maybe. But only if you got caught. And like, he's eighteen, it's not like it's illegal. Plus, I thought you said he was Blaine's step-dad."

"Yeah, he is."

"Then that's nowhere near as gross."

Kurt looked at her curiously, "Are you suggesting that I actually go there?"

"Well say you didn't have all those factors in the way. You would go there, right?"

Kurt just sat there only managing to open and close his mouth in horror. Finally he managed to say, "No. Completely out of the question. It's just… no."

Holly shrugged, "You know what you need? A rebound! You need to find someone else to get over this Blaine kid…" She trailed off lost in thought but then her eyes grew wide and she broke into a massive smile. "Say – what are you doing tonight?"

"I'm going home. I have to prepare for my next classes. I wasn't expecting a full time job today when I strode so casually into Dalton, tired and a still a little hung over."

"Bo-ring!" Holly sing-songed in two syllables, "Come out with me!" But before Kurt could disagree she had already gotten up and was making her way back to the car.

"Holly – _wait_!"

She turned around and rolled her eyes with a smile on her face and her hands on her hips before running back to catch up with him and then dragging him away from the Lima Bean.

"No Holly, I can't," Kurt said unable to understand how women were so datable when they never listened to a word you said, "Classes aside, I have episodes of Project Runway to catch up on too."

She made a face to say she was upset but clearly she was being sarcastic. "Getting turned down for TV? Really, Kurt? Do I mean that much to you?" She paused but Kurt wasn't sure what to say to defend himself. Apparently Holly really didn't mind, "What if I said we were going to Club Q?"

At this Kurt softened, "You'd come to a gay bar with me?"

"Fo'sure! What's not to like about gay bars? Not only will they perfectly fail to stare down your top but the men there—will actually get up and dance with you."

She took one look at Kurt as if she only just realized who she was talking to. "Oh well—they might try to make a pass at you, but that's kinda your thing, isn't it?"

Kurt shook his head trying to force away his smile, "Okay, I'll come. But take me home first. There's no _way_ I'm going clubbing in the same outfit I've been wearing all day."

"The horror!" Holly said, again sarcastically, but for someone who praised themselves as the master of sarcasm, Kurt didn't notice.

"I know, right? I'm glad we have so much in common."

"You mean other than the fact that we both love cock?"

"_Holly_!"

"What? It's true. You know it. I know it. But I don't know if I'm a real big fan of taking it up the –"

"OH-KAY!" Kurt interrupted, "This is becoming really awkward, really fast. So let's hurry up and get me home or we'll never make it there tonight. You really have _no_ idea how long it takes for me to get changed."

~.~

**A/N:**Thank you for the love, this story has received it has been amazing! As always, I would love to hear from you. Please review!


	5. Just Dance

**The Stranger's Son**

_paperstylehearts_

…Chapter Five…_Just __Dance_

Blaine knew Alex was home before he had even opened the door to his dad's apartment—I mean really, who else would be listening to Madonna this loudly? So, despite his mood, his face lifted as he led himself inside to where Alex was, standing in the kitchen with one of those incredibly cheesy frilly aprons on.

"Hey Champ! Your mom says hi. And she's expecting a call from you soon so I wouldn't forget that if I were you."

Blaine nodded, "Sure, I'll give her a call. Um, Dad, Sebastian's coming over later. We're going out tonight."

Alex didn't look too impressed, "On a school night? Blaine you promised you'd be staying home today…"

"I know, I just… I really need to get out."

It was then that Alex noticed that something wasn't quite right. "Did something happen at school today? Was it—_Kurt_?"

"No!" Blaine said, a little too fast, "Saunders showed him my file."

"WHAT?"

"No Dad, relax, I'm fine. I mean I'm not happy that Kurt knows but there's nothing I can do about it now." Blaine made a move for the fridge picking out some vegetables for a salad. But nothing of what he'd said flew with his dad. If anything, Alex wasn't relaxed at all.

"This is not on, Blaine. We only agreed to let the school keep a copy of that document so they would agree to keep you another year at Dalton. And the only reason they got the donation that followed in the first place was so that they would shut the hell up about it."

Blaine suddenly grew nervous with the Blackberry that had appeared in Alex's hand. "Dad! C'mon, who are you calling?"

"My boss! I'm going to be late to work tomorrow if I'm spending the morning ringing out Saunders from here to Sunday."

But before Alex could dial, Blaine had already taken away his cell from his reach. Not an easy feat, when you were about as tall as a hobbit but he'd managed to. "Dad, please—just listen to me. _Relax_, okay? Kurt won't tell anyone. I highly doubt he'd be willing to breach a student's privacy when he's always going on about doing nothing that could risk his job. Besides, all the other teachers know, and as Kurt _is_ working at Dalton fulltime now, he was bound to find out."

There was no way Blaine would have said this to his dad had they spoken a few hours ago. But he'd had a lot of time to mull things over in the car on the drive back here. He was still angry but he'd been able to think reason of the situation which had calmed him down considerably.

Alex shook his head in disbelief. "I'm – I'm sorry, Blaine. That wretched school seems nothing but a joke to me now. Are you okay?"

"I will be."

Alex reached out and patted him on the shoulder which Blaine acknowledged with a smile. He returned his Dad's cell to him.

"So how'd you go today?" Blaine asked, grateful for an excuse to change the topic, "I see you got back the Benz okay."

His dad nodded, "Yeah, she's running smoothly again. And the mechanic's a great guy too. I think I may have struck a bromance with him." Alex did not add that his mechanic was Kurt's dad. With everything that Blaine had been through today he thought it best to leave that piece of information for another time.

"Well, I'm happy for you," Blaine confirmed resuming his work on the salad, "You need to start making friendships with males who will actually appreciate you for who you are. I'm assuming you guys have a friendly bro-date in the works?"

"Actually, a family date. He's invited you, me and your mom to the next Red's match with his wife and step-son."

Blaine nodded, frisking the drawers for the potato peeler so he could start work on the cucumber. "Sounds great!" he agreed as Alex reached for a frying pan in the cupboard over.

"Glad to hear you're up for it! Now excuse me while I get started on the chicken strips."

"Of course I'm up for it!" Blaine added reaching for a couple of tomatoes, "I _love_ the Reds. So does Mom. Wouldn't miss it if you paid us."

There was a slight comfortable pause in which Alex took a second to glance at his son. "You're a good kid, you know that right? I am so proud to be your dad."

Blaine didn't miss a beat, "Dad—that's really gay."

"Yeah? Well, so are you."

"Maybe… But still no where nearly as gay as the apron you're wearing."

~.~

By the time nine o'clock arrived, Blaine was starting to wish that he hadn't agreed to go out anymore. He was relaxed now, he had reasoned today's situation in his head and his dad had put him in a good mood. He still wasn't sure about how he was going to get his plan back on track but he was trying not to worry too much about it right now.

"You look nice," Alex noted setting a reminder to record The Bachelorette so that Blaine wouldn't have an excuse to kill him later if he forgot.

"Thanks," accepted Blaine, "Though I'm not really sure I want to go anymore." He expected Alex to offer ringing Sebastian and cancelling on his behalf – Alex was good that way – but he clearly wasn't running parallel with Blaine's thought's tonight.

"No – you should go."

"Didn't you say something about it being a school night?"

"And didn't _you_ just say something about needing to get out?" Blaine went silent and Alex took that as his cue to keep speaking. "Blaine – I know you. I know we're not biologically connected or anything but I think we understand each other well enough to know that doesn't make me any less your dad. I know I might have come across a little hesitant about it at first but if I had to have the day you just had, I'd probably want to get out of the house too."

Blaine met his father's eyes and together they spoke a silent conversation. If it wasn't for Alex, Blaine wouldn't be the man he was today. If it wasn't for Alex, Blaine wouldn't even be alive. How anyone could think of screwing over Blaine's hero was a joke to him.

Which was exactly why Kurt Hummel had to pay.

Blaine's pocket began vibrating indicating that Sebastian had arrived, so after saying bye to his dad hw made his way downstairs.

Sebastian was standing by the hood of his car; his arms were folded as he attempted to look serious but the only thought crossing Blaine's mind is that just for once he'd wish Sebastian would actually dress nice instead of looking like he belonged on a children's animated television program.

The seriousness in Sebastian's eyes however quickly faded when he saw Blaine and was replaced with a keen smile. "Hey! Great outfit, Blaine. It really suits you."

"Thanks." _Wish __I __could __say __the __same __about __you._

"Did you bring your ID?" Sebastian asked unlocking his car.

"Yeah. Apparently I'm thirty-eight. We're not going to Scandals, are we?"

"God, no. I can't stand that place anymore. It's crawling with unentertaining drag queens and seedy old men." He shuddered at the thought. "No - I'm taking you to Club Q."

Blaine nodded in approval, "Wow, I've heard that place is really hard to get into. Don't you have to be on a guest list or something?"

Sebastian snorted, "You forget who you're talking to, Blaine."

"No, I just forget what an arrogant prick you are sometimes." Blaine had been rather honest just then, more then he normally would have braved to be, but Sebastian just laughed.

It turned out, that not only did you have to be on a guest list to get in, but the line to Club Q was absolutely ridiculous. Blaine had no idea how Sebastian was going to pull it off but after they had managed to find parking, Sebastian casually strolled over to Blaine and put his arm around him, hand cupping his ass.

"_Bas_!"

"Just follow my lead. Put your arm around me."

And although Blaine didn't feel comfortable with the idea at all, everything made perfect sense to him when Bas jumped the queue by walking straight up to the front of the line and nodding to the bouncer.

"He's with me," Sebastian said casually and the bouncer permitted them in.

Blaine was thoroughly surprised but kept quiet about it until they were safely inside the club.

"How did you…?"

"Father owns shares here. Bought it as a trade for my promise to attend Stanford next year. Go on, hit the dance floor – I'll buy you a drink."

Feeling less awkward now that Sebastian's hands were off him, Blaine moved downstairs from the bar to the dance floor where a large group of men were standing in a circle, jumping, dancing, making out and wolf-whistling at – a female.

Blaine pushed through to get a better look and there, getting down and dirty with one of the club's bare-chested dancers and wearing his sailor hat, was his old teacher.

"Miss Holliday?" Blaine said in disbelief.

"Oh hey Blaine!" she smiled, recognizing him immediately, "Come join us! _Vamonos!_"

And before he could say no, before he could make any protest whatsoever, she had grabbed his hand and pulled him into the middle of the circle. Blaine had no choice – he had to dance. But he just stood there numbly as if he had never seen a woman before.

"What are you doing here?" he yelled over the music.

"I should be asking you the same thing! How old are you again, Blaine?"

She waved away the shocked look on his face immediately. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll have some sort of ID that'll counter my argument. I'm here with –"

But the rest of her sentence was drowned out by the club's music and before Blaine knew what was happening, the circle surrounding them had disbanded and there were men pushing up against him dancing and sucking each other's faces.

_I have to get out of here._

Pushing his way back through was more difficult but he decided to head for the bar and look for Sebastian. Surely he would have got Blaine's drink by now and God knows he needed one.

He found Sebastian easily enough – even if he wasn't the only one who stood out with his horrible clothes – and too discovered the reason Sebastian was taking so long. Blaine shook his head. They hadn't even been here ten minutes and Sebastian was already flirting with some guy. Blaine took no notice of the fact that the second Sebastian saw him he forgot all about the guy he was with, and walked right over to him instead, two drinks in hand.

"Here - I bought you a beer."

"Thanks. I see you're having fun already."

Sebastian looked confused, "What? _That_ guy? He came onto me, I was only being polite. Besides, you know I have better taste than that."

Blaine shrugged, "I saw Miss Holliday on the dance floor. I didn't pick this as her type of scene."

"Oh you'll be surprised. A lot of fag hags love gay clubs. And it explains why Kurt's here."

Blaine almost spat out his entire drink, "Kurt's here?"

"Relax, Anderson. Remember what I said. The more opportunities you have to see him the better. And the fact that this little arrangement is outside of school? What fun. You might not even have to do anything. Just make sure he gets plastered after which you can take him back to your mom's empty place and make it look like something did. No way is he coming back to Dalton after that."

Blaine went silent going over his drink. When he went to take another sip he realized he'd already finished it. Sebastian smiled, "Easy on the liquid courage there, Blaine."

But Blaine wasn't paying him any attention, "I wonder where he is. I didn't see him dancing with Miss Holliday."

Sebastian handed over the remainder of his drink to Blaine, "Go on. Go find him. I'll be on the top floor if you need me. And I've opened up a tab so tonight drinks are on me."

"_Should_you be drinking tonight? How are we going to get home?"

"Ah, that's why I think ahead. I've got our driver on speed dial; he knows I'm out here tonight. Now – I'm going to go dance. If you can't find me later, text me. If I don't answer immediately, it's cos I'm probably making out with somebody really hot."

He patted Blaine on the shoulder and within seconds he had disappeared.

Five minutes later, so had Blaine's drink.

~.~

Kurt had no idea where Holly was. He knew she was on the dance floor somewhere but where exactly he had no idea and he wasn't about to go look either. True, he was getting a lot of male attention tonight – Julie would be proud – but the alcohol wasn't doing any help with mustering his courage to talk to someone. In fact, all it was doing was causing him to hallucinate because Kurt swears he just saw Blaine dancing on the floor.

Hold on – that _was_Blaine dancing on the floor! Well, Kurt was about to give him a piece of his mind! Firstly, how did he even manage to get in? And secondly – wait, where was he going with this? His double vodka midori was finally getting to him and suddenly all Kurt could think about was what a good dancer Blaine was and how much he wanted to join him.

But God, he hadn't drunk that much yet. And wow, were they playing Lady GaGa? Kurt loved this song! It reflected exactly how he felt at the moment. He just wanted to dance.

"_What's—go-ing on in this club? I love this record baby but I can't think straight anymore."_

By the time Kurt finished his next drink he was perfectly content dancing by himself. And a couple of gay cowboys near him thought he was pretty good at it too. They pressed together against Kurt with their arms around each other so that Kurt was forced between them in the middle like a boy sandwich - but he was hardly complaining.

The GaGa song they were dancing to was a remix and the DJ kept spinning the same line over and over:

"_I've had a little bit too much."_

"_I've had a little bit too much."_

'_No_,' Kurt thought as the cowboys started grinding against him, '_I__'__ve __clearly __not __had __enough.__'_

"'Scuse me boys!" Kurt said, somehow managing to slip his way out from between them, "I'm upgrading from cowboys to cowboy shots!"

But they weren't paying attention and he was drunken enough that he didn't care as he stumbled over to the bar.

"I'll have a cock-sucking cowboy, thanks!" Kurt requested to the bartender who smirked muttering about it being an excellent choice. The guy beside Kurt seemed to think so also.

"Make that two, Harvey."

Kurt turned to see who was joining him and he'd be damned if he didn't recognize that voice: it was Blaine Anderson. Kurt just stared at him with his mouth open.

"Hi Kurt. Might want to - close your mouth… so, you know, nothing falls in."

"Hello… figment of my imagination." Harvey handed over Kurt his shot which he downed immediately. "Don't look at me like that!" he told Blaine, "It's the only possible explanation I have that gives me a good enough reason to accept why you're here at all!"

Blaine didn't say anything accepting the shot Harvey gave him instead and then promptly adding both his and Kurt's to Sebastian's tab – he had been doing a lot of that tonight. _Just __get __him __plastered_, Sebastian's voice reminded him in his head.

"Sir I – I think you should have my drink. You know, since I'm underage."

Kurt shrugged, "Well, we can't let a good cock-sucking cowboy go to waste now can we?"

He took Blaine's shot and just like he had with the first downed it all in one gulp.

"Blaine," Kurt said, poking his arm as if to make sure he was real but looking anywhere but at him as if he were invisible at the same time, "If you really are here, it's time I was honest with you again. You see, I know you were upset when you realized I saw your file and I need you to know what I actually thought when I read it because it's not what you think at all. What I saw was a boy who was doing exceptionally well in all his AP classes. I saw a boy who was successful at bringing the Warblers home a championship. But most of all I saw a man who was determined to get the best out of life despite the hardships thrown at him and I –"

"Kurt," Blaine interrupted. He had to get him to stop talking. Even though Blaine was drinking too, Kurt's little speech was making him tingle and he was sure it had nothing to do with the alcohol.

"Come and dance with me."

Kurt stared right through him as if Blaine really was invisible, "But you're not really here…"

Blaine took his hand, "Dance with me, Kurt."

Kurt's eyes drifted towards Blaine's face. He knew he looked a bit afraid but Blaine gripped his hand a little tighter and then Kurt was able to follow wordlessly after him.

When they had found a spot on the dance floor, Blaine brought Kurt really close to him so that Kurt's back was pressing into his chest and that their hips were moving in sync. Kurt threw his head back and his hands up to the beat of the music and when Blaine moved to rest his head on Kurt's shoulder, Kurt had his hands fall in Kurt's hair behind him. Blaine was holding onto Kurt's waist and when Kurt started gently pulling at his curls Blaine knew that was his invitation to start exploring the boy's neck.

Although everything would be easier if Kurt wasn't the taller one it actually worked to Blaine's advantage. At this angle he was able to blow gently against Kurt's exposed skin causing Kurt to shudder. His neck was already sensitive to begin with and now Blaine was making his whole body shake. Such a movement caused Blaine to grind even harder against him and Kurt could feel by the hard length pressed against his ass that Blaine was as turned on by this as he was.

"Do you feel me, Kurt?" Blaine whispered directly in his ear, his voice low. "Do you feel me pressed up hard against you?"

Above the music, Kurt let out a sigh that would have turned any straight man right there and then.

"_Just __dance, __dance, __dance, __just, __just, __just, __dance.__"_

The music changed going faster and faster which meant Kurt started dancing quicker to keep in time. He just kept on dancing and eventually spun around to face Blaine. The crowd suddenly pushed into him and he lost his balance but Blaine caught him as he stumbled and held his waist tightly. And Kurt continued to dance except now he was pushing up against Blaine so that _he_was the one who could feel _him_; _he_ was the one making those noises that had Kurt so very erect in his pants.

They were staring into each other's lust-blown eyes now, panting as the heat of the club started getting to them. Blaine reached out and took Kurt's face into his hands and Kurt ridden with want whispered, "I don't care what's right anymore."

And then he leaned forward and started kissing Blaine and Blaine was kissing him back and it seemed that fireworks had gone off somewhere.

Blaine broke away first moving to pay more attention to Kurt's glorious neck which he pressed light kisses against before slowly starting to suck at a spot just above his collarbone moving aside the fabric of his shirt just enough so that he could access Kurt's skin better.

Kurt giggled, "No – stop. Everyone will see - please don't - I have school tomorrow."

And that's when he realized – he had school tomorrow.

He looked up into the crowd and saw Holly dancing on a table. She noticed him at once, moved her eyes towards Blaine and then winked. And suddenly an earlier coffee conversation was becoming all too familiar in Kurt's head and when he stared again at the boy in front of him he realized he was making a mistake. Blaine moved closer to him but Kurt backed away fast, "I can't do this."

He turned and ran out of the club. Blaine tried to follow him but there were still so many people around making it difficult to go anywhere and Kurt was much too quick for him.

Blaine finally reached the outside entrance where the air was cool in contrast with the heat of the club and he welcomed the freshness of it. He must have had a frantic look on his face because a flamboyant young male who was still waiting in the queue to get in yelled out, "Your boyfriend went that way!"

"Thanks!" Blaine said running in the direction the stranger had seen Kurt go. After a few minutes Blaine gratefully managed to catch up to him where he stood waiting by what was presumably Holly's car.

"Kurt—" Blaine said quietly but Kurt placed his hand up quickly not wanting to hear it.

"You need to go back in there." Kurt said his voice cold.

Blaine crossed his arms, eyebrows raised, "Only if you're coming back with me."

But Kurt was stubborn, "That's not going to happen."

Blaine sighed, "So you're going to wait out here until it's three am and Holly's finally ready to check on you?"

"No – I'm calling a cab. Or should I call security because you're not even meant to be here."

"Except that I am. And I _was_ having a good time dancing with you until you turned all Cinder_fella_ on me and ran out."

"You were behaving inappropriately."

"Excuse me?" Blaine asked, a little bitchier than he intended, "That's rich considering how loudly you were moaning back there."

Kurt's face flushed with embarrassment but he was also shaking a little with anger, "That wasn't supposed to happen. It was a mistake!"

"If it is, you seem really good at making them. But I don't care – that mistake meant something to me. And I know it did to you too… Unless of course if my father wasn't a one off and you really are some douche who gets off being some sort of flighty princess."

"Don't!" Kurt snapped, "_Don__'__t_ you dare! Maybe you were right today. Maybe I don't understand you. Maybe I never will. But that doesn't give you the right to presume that you know _anything_about me or my life or what I've been through to get where I am. So just don't—_mmpfh_!"

Blaine was kissing him again. And Kurt wasn't stopping him. But then his brain caught up with him again and he had pushed Blaine away. "What the _hell_ was that for?"

"Don't pretend like you didn't enjoy it. I might not understand you either but I know you enjoyed that." Blaine inched closer to Kurt so that their bodies were almost touching, "Tell me you didn't enjoy kissing me and I'll leave you alone."

Kurt snapped his eyes shut, willing the dizziness in his head to disappear. "I'm drunk, Blaine. You can't hold me to anything that I say right now."

"Then let's get out of here. Sober up together and then you can let me know." He placed a hand on Kurt's cheek but Kurt shook him off shaking his head. Blaine should be losing his patience now but it was only making him more persistent. "Why not? Are you afraid you won't be able to resist me?"

"That's ridiculous. I am perfectly capable of keeping my hormones under control."

"Obviously," Blaine muttered, but whether or not Kurt heard was unknown to him.

"Look," Kurt started, "I'm tired, this is the second night in a row that I've been drinking and we _both_ have school tomorrow."

Blaine shrugged, "I'm not going to school tomorrow. I'm going to tell my dad I'm not feeling well and stay at home. You have fun though."

"But what about the council's decision at Warbler's practice? Don't you want to find out who won?"

"We all know I got the solo. I _always _get the solos. Anyways, Wes and David won't announce anything without me there."

"You seem pretty confident."

"Do I have any reason not to be?"

Blaine's arrogance was actually inspiring to Kurt. He was reminded of the time he had auditioned against Rachel in high school and was so sure of himself after he had gone on… (But then she had sung _Barbra_ and he had practically bowed down to her).

"Blaine," Kurt said quietly, "Would you like to split a cab home with me? I mean we'd be going our separate ways but-"

Blaine eyed him carefully, "As much as I'd love to, I'm not alone tonight. I have a friend who's still inside and I wouldn't want to worry him necessarily if I disappear home with you. But you should probably tell Holly that you're leaving."

"I'll text her."

"Sure your cell is working?"

Kurt just rolled his eyes, "I better go." He turned to leave but Blaine called out after him.

"Don't I even get a goodnight?"

Kurt didn't miss a beat, "Goodnight Blaine."

"That's not what I meant…" He quickly strode over t Kurt slowly raising his hand to place it on his cheek gently circling Kurt's jaw line with his thumb.

Kurt closed his eyes muttering, "You will be the death of me," as Blaine leaned in to kiss him again.

"Only in the best way," Blaine whispered in his ear right before their lips collided, fireworks still flying.

~.~

**A/N:**I have started a tumblr so if anyone is on there and would like to follow me my url is paperstylehearts (dot) tumblr (dot) com

And I apologize – working on this story has unintentionally put a temporary hiatus on the progress of _Klainelight_. I just want to make it clear that I have NOT abandoned the story. (That would be impossible; I want to find out what happens just as much as you do)! But a new chapter probably won't be out till next week or the first week of the new year…

Speaking of which, what's everyone doing for the holidays? I hope you all enjoy them and have time to spend it with the people you love!

So if I don't manage to get another chapter out before then - **Happy Holidays!** xx


	6. I Can't Get No  Satisfaction

**The Stranger's Son**

_paperstylehearts_

**A/N: **HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVERYONE! :) On another note, I do apologize my internet has been playing up and it's getting harder and harder to upload :(

br

…Chapter Six…_ I Can't Get No - Satisfaction_

When Kurt returned home last night he had gone straight for the kitchen and sobered himself up with plenty of water, so that now he was awake this morning, his hangover wasn't in fact that bad. He was not going out again this week; he had made up his mind. He knew he was always fast to complain how bored he was but he'd take that any day over what had happened last night as a result of him going out. He was still trying to piece together the events of last night; he remembered bits of it but certainly not all of it and he still wasn't sure how he felt about everything either. At least it had just been a kiss. (And okay, maybe it had been more than once)… But Kurt didn't realize that sometimes even kisses are a lot more than what they seem.

His phone vibrated distracting his thoughts and indicating he'd received a message: '_Kurt. Need you to come to garage ASAP. It's about your car. Dad.' _So after reading it, he had quickly showered and changed, grabbed a couple of toasted bagels and hailed a cab to Hummel's Tire and Lube.

Finn noticed Kurt first, "Yo Dad? Kurt's here!"

"Keep him out there!" Kurt heard his dad say which shocked Kurt and rooted him to where he was. His dad never said things like that to him…

"What's going on, Finn?" Kurt asked confused.

"Sorry dude, can't say. You'll find out soon enough though."

Kurt eyed his brother quizzically, dagger-eyes activated, and Finn stared back half afraid, "Don't look at me like that, Kurt! We've been through this—it's scary. Dad'll be out soon, I promise."

"Dad is here," said Burt gruffly, "Kurt, stop shooting daggers at your brother and come with me. I gotta show you something, kiddo. But first—I got some good news and I got some news that ain't so good."

"Please don't tell me Carole's pregnant."

Burt snorted, "Well, er, _no_. I'd say good guess but you're too far off. It's about your car."

"What about my car, Dad?"

"Well at first I figured it was your battery. Explains why it shut down like that and all. But it's a bit more complicated than that…"

Burt stepped aside now that they had reached the inside of the garage and Kurt braced himself for the worst.

There – his poor car lay – or what used to be his car. He didn't know much about cars, true, but he could clearly see that she was beyond repair. He didn't know what to say, "Oh God. Tell me the good news."

Burt patted his shoulder, "Well as you can see, I had to use what I could from your car, but there wasn't much good to take. It was enough though, to get you this." The car next to Kurt's which had been covered with a neon blue tarp was then revealed so that he could now see what Burt had in store for him. "I found it in a car yard just south of Lima. Guy wanted to sell it for a ridiculous price but it was worth every penny. I had the paint redone 'cos I know how much you love 'em shiny cars and – "

But Burt's speech had been cut short because Kurt had suddenly leaped out at him and was hugging his father tightly. "All right, all right!" Burt said, trying very hard not to laugh as he patted his son awkwardly, "Now, normally I don't just give stuff away so, I know it's still far off but, this is your Christmas present. And birthday. I had a bit of extra cash thanks to that customer the other day who I was telling you about so it's yours."

"Wow, Dad. Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Okay. You're welcome. Now don't just stand there – take her for a spin!" He handed over the keys to Kurt.

"Do you want to ride with me?"

"Don't you need to be at school in a bit?"

"Oh yeah. Right. Thank you… Just know that this has put me into a really good cooking mood. Expect your favorite dishes soon, I promise!"

At the mention of food, Finn suddenly appeared, "Can I make some requests for stuff I like? I helped out too, you know!"

~.~

By the time Kurt reached Dalton, he wasn't just in a really good cooking mood, he was in an extremely good mood overall. For starters the sound system his dad had installed was _freakingfantastic_ and the paintwork was something else. He felt nothing short of a celebrity. He had his sunglasses on (even though his windows were tinted,) and he was wearing his low neck grey v-shirt, the one that – oh shit.

Because even though Blaine hadn't bitten very hard (or at all? Kurt couldn't remember), there were small dark reddish marks on his neck, right near his collarbone. Lucky, he had a travel bag in his car for such emergencies. There would be no time to cover it up – he was running low on concealer anyway – but that checkered scarf he had worn one time during dinner with Julie would have to do the trick.

Having arrived early, he found parking easily, and double checking that his new can of hairspray was in his satchel, he strode into the hallway of Dalton more confident than ever. He passed by a couple of students he recognized as some of Blaine's friends and ignored the feeling in his stomach when he realized that Blaine wouldn't be here today. It was better this way, he told himself. This way he would have time to himself to adjust to what had happened.

But all in all his day turned out pretty well. His freshmans were warming up to him (some of them actually speaking during class) and his sophomores were starting to kiss up to him (which although wouldn't alter their marks was certainly flattering) and so, by the time Kurt reached his senior class, ("Bonjour Monsieurs! How are we all on this fant_abulous_ day?") he had totally gotten over the fact that Blaine wasn't here.

Well, almost.

"Monsieur, fantabulous isn't a word!" one of his boys pointed out.

"_Au contraire!_ It's a mash up word. Can anyone tell me – in French of course – what two English words make up the word 'fantabulous?'

Sebastian Smythe – who Kurt had discovered was unusually top of the class – was the first to answer. "_Fantastique et_ _fabuleuse_." ("Fantastic and fabulous.")

"_Bravo Monsieur Smythe. C'est un accent tr__è__s remarquable." _("Well done, Monsieur Smythe. That's a very remarkable accent.")

"_Merci beaucoup, Monsieur."_ (Thank you very much, sir".) He paused, eyes trailing very subtly yet mischievously towards Kurt's neck, as he continued in French,_ "C'est une écharpe tr__è__s remarquable." _("That's a very remarkable scarf.")

Kurt was not tuned off enough to know that Sebastian was obviously implying something with his comment but with twenty or so attentive boys watching him he wasn't about to start something.

"_Merci_," he accepted his voice a little off guard. He turned back to the class, "So today I was hoping I could challenge you all with a little quiz. I realize some of you are a little more advanced than others while even more of you will benefit gratefully from my remedial tutoring which I will be posting signups for later this week if not today. So without further _adieu_…"

Kurt handed over the quiz papers face down as normal on each of his student's desks before returning to the front of the class taking out an old-fashioned timer and placing it on his table.

"On the count of three… _une, deux, trois_!"

Kurt sat at his desk refusing to look at Sebastian. Could _he_ have been the friend Blaine had been with inside the club? Why else would he hint something like that? Kurt couldn't imagine Blaine gossiping to anyone about what had happened… Either way whether he was being paranoid or whether it was because wearing a scarf on a somewhat bright day screamed _obvious_ Sebastian nerved Kurt and he didn't like it. Or him. But he refused to be biased even when eleven minutes in, Sebastian had finished his quiz and had his head resting on the desk table, eyes closed, waiting. Kurt had thrown some pretty difficult questions in that test on purpose and a lot of boys looked like they were struggling. If Sebastian was playing at something he'd be able to tell as soon as he marked question four.

Kurt glanced at the timer on his desk. Time was almost up but watching the students having finished – or tried to finish – the ten or so questions already he knew that was his cue.

"Okay, time is up! Monsieur Smythe, please collect the papers forward. Everyone else, if you could now turn to chapter five on verbs, please. I know it's a _risqué_ chapter but we'll have it mastered soon enough."

Sebastian brought the papers down – all boys resumed their work and Kurt quickly shuffled all the papers till he found Sebastian's placing it on top, eager to mark it first.

Well, there was no doubt about it, Sebastian hadn't just done well, he'd even got the extra points question correct. Kurt had nothing to reprimand him for. _Damnit_, Kurt thought_._

No one else had scored nearly as highly. Kurt was quick to mark the papers and then they resumed on the chapters of verbs together which took the rest of class. As the bell rung, Sebastian was first to move out but Kurt quickly stopped him.

"I can't stay long, Monsieur. Warbler's practice."

Kurt smiled, "It'll only take a minute. I just wanted to congratulate you. You answered your paper perfectly."

Sebastian winked, "It helps having lived in Paris. It's where I met Blaine when he came up for his scholarship. He was a great help too."

At the mention of Blaine, Kurt was suddenly reminded of Sebastian's earlier cheek. "You must have been _great_ study partners. Look, Monsieur Smythe, I have a favor to ask. Since you are doing so well and as most of your classmates require extra help I have something to suggest. When I start remedial tutoring it would be great extra credit for your repoire if you assisted me with these lessons."

Sebastian shrugged, "Of course, Monsieur. I'm applying for Stanford next year so any extra credit will look great on my application. I'll be happy to help out. Now – if you'll excuse me."

He made to leave but Kurt wasn't quite finished yet, "One more thing Monsieur Smythe. I understood perfectly well what you meant regarding the comment you made about my scarf. And, if you are going to be my assistant, I'll take now as the time to warn you against such inappropriateness again. You don't want to mess with me."

Sebastian's scoff was so quick, Kurt almost missed it, "Wouldn't dream of it, sir. Heads up though. Of all the students you should be worried about – I'm the least of your concerns. Enjoy the rest of your day."

He left then leaving Kurt almost worried about the decision he had made asking Sebastian to join him but it was like the saying went – keep your friends close but your enemies closer and, Kurt was no newbie to that fact…

He spent a lot of time in class after that, getting things ready for his freshman's first double period of French tomorrow morning. He was so absorbed in his work only glancing up briefly to see a group of enthused and excited boys just outside the French room, who were pumped up to see the Warblers perform no doubt. He thought briefly of joining them but without Blaine leading the performance, was it really worth going?

"_Too late for second guessing, too late to go back to sleep._

_It's time to trust my instincts, close my eyes and leap…"_

Kurt couldn't help humming his favorite Wicked tune as he fell back into has work.

"_I'm through accepting limits 'cos someone says they're so._

_Some things I cannot change but till I try I'll never know…_"

He was so passionately involved in the song he missed the boy in his skin tight jeans slip into the classroom. A voice joined him in duet, the same one he could never forget.

"_Too long I've been afraid of, losing love I guess I lost._

_Well if that's love it comes at much too high a cost."_

Of course at this Kurt was forced to look up and there, standing near the door in a striped boy cut Calvin Klein polo and Levi jeans was –

"Blaine?" Kurt said in disbelief, "What are you doing here?" I thought you weren't feeling well." He made it a point to not look at him but as thoroughly as he had been absorbed in his work he just couldn't use it to distract him anymore.

"I wasn't at school if that's what you're asking." Blaine said moving closer to him. "I came here for the Warblers. I didn't seem so confident about their decision this morning when I woke up. Must have been the alcohol encouraging me to talk so highly of myself last night."

Kurt fidgeted unnecessarily with his papers, "Well, I'm sure they eased your worried immediately. You're here to tell me the good news I presume?"

At this, Kurt chanced a look at Blaine and kicked himself mentally for the crimson that was now flooding his cheeks as a result. But one thing was for sure – he was as right about Blaine as he was the first time he had seen him. The boy was _fine_. And though he would never permit it again, dancing with Blaine had been… entertaining. His lips on Kurt's… intoxicating. But without trying to bear so much stock on religious references, Blaine was the forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden. Ever so tempting but _forbidden_.

"Blaine – about last night…"

"I didn't get the solo, Kurt."

The news swiftly took Kurt off guard completely, "I'm sorry – what?"

"I didn't get the solo."

Kurt shook his head, "I know. You just said that. But – _why_?"

Blaine sighed. He was clearly upset but he was trying to put up a front. Kurt felt for him.

"Do you mind if I take a seat? You're going to want to hear this…"

"Um, s-sure," Kurt stuttered, his voice slightly breaking at the sight of Blaine looking so defeated. He gestured to a seat in front of his desk and as Blaine leaned and sat back into the chair, the slump on his shoulders was not unnoticed as he began to tell Kurt his story.

~.~

"C'mon Blaine, wakey wakey, time for school."

"Not. Going." Blaine managed to mumble still half asleep as Alex gently shook his shoulders.

"And why is that?" his father asked.

"Because you're the best dad in the world and are going to ring Secretary Keene for me?"

"Oh-kay. How much did you drink last night?"

"Not much."

"Clearly – when you're sweet talking like _that_ I'd assume the effects haven't worn off yet. Now – what's up?"

Blaine sighed, "I'm just not up for it. I need to shave and I'm still wearing last night's clothes."

Alex's eyes wrinkled at the thought, "How bad is your hangover?"

"I really didn't drink that much, Dad."

"So whose heart did you break last night then, huh?"

"_Dad!_"

Alex chuckled, "I'm only trying to stir you! Was he cute?"

Blaine groaned, "I'm just really not mentally ready to go to school today. Please, Dad?"

"Well as it happens, I've actually already called Secretary Keene and excused you." He paused taking a moment to look at his son but the moment passed, "Now, I've got to jet, I'm scheduled to host a conference so take it easy. And be sure to get your homework off one of the guys."

"I've already texted Sebastian."

Alex sighed, "I really don't like that guy."

"He's harmless…" Blaine insisted.

"I just wish you would hang around someone who was a better influence on you. Didn't you tell me this kid's middle name was 'Heartbreaker?'"

"It's not like that with me and Bas." Blaine said getting ready to go back to sleep.

"Okay... I trust you. I just don't want to see you get hurt." He seemed skeptical but Blaine's eyes were shut and he didn't notice, "You going out today?" Alex asked.

"I might drop by Warblers practice."

"Cool. Well, just be home for dinner. As it turns out, _we_ have plans tonight."

"Okay Dad."

"Take care, Blaine."

So several hours after Alex had left, at about two thirty Blaine had slept off most of last night. He thought now was as good as time as any to get out of bed and truth be told he was sorta hungry. So he showered, shaved and changed making sure to make good use of his new dark Levi's.

Within the hour, he was ready to leave and he arrived at Dalton just after four, his cell vibrating furiously in his pocket as he walked inside through the gates.

"Geez Bas, anyone would think you're my nagging boyfriend with the way my cell's just been going off. How many consecutive missed calls is that now?"

"Well I've been trying to get the Warblers off my back. They keep asking me where you are. You are here now, aren't you?"

"Yeah. I'll meet you inside in a sec."

He hung up and finished the last of his medium drip he had managed to pick up on his way in. But when he arrived during rehearsals, something was amiss. Usually the boys were all pumped to see him and even though he wasn't expecting celebrity treatment, the boys at least noticed him when he walked in. He supposed maybe this had something to do with the fact that he wasn't wearing his Dalton uniform – maybe they didn't recognize him – but when Blaine went over and said hi to Jeff and Thad, Jeff but all rolled his eyes at him and Thad promptly turned his back towards him.

He was distracted by Sebastian who had noticed him then and approached him ushering him to the back to sit down. Blaine felt the paranoia sweeping through him, "Is it me or have I done something to upset everyone?"

"Don't worry about it," Sebastian offered, "It's probably just 'cos they're up against you for the solo."

But Blaine knew that couldn't be it. They were always up against him for solos and they had never acted like this before. Wes' gavel knocked down on the podium resuming the start of the rehearsals and distracting Blaine from his uncertainty.

"Welcome Warblers to what we know will be another powerful rehearsal. Before we begin, I would just like to congratulate everyone on their exceptional performances yesterday." David applauded loudly prompting everyone else to do the same. Wes knocked his gavel again.

"For final performance today we'll be covering a Destiny's Child number. But let's get to the exciting news – the solo for sectionals is awarded to…" –Blaine took this as his cue to stand up – "Blaine Warbler."

No one but Sebastian and the council applauded him. _So I wasn't being paranoid_… But now that he knew for sure that there was a problem, he had no idea what to say.

"Is something wrong, Warblers?" Wes asked.

Jeff immediately stood up as though he had been waiting for this exact moment to speak, "Blaine is always getting the solos. It's not that he doesn't deserve them. It's not that I'm sick of his dreamy acapella voice. It's that I fear that our competition is going to take advantage of us if we keep using our best resource all the time."

"Be that as it may," Sebastian countered, stepping in for Blaine, "your animosity towards Blaine is obvious. I will give you one thing though – Blaine is our best resource. So then _who_ exactly do you suggest we use instead?"

Jeff held his head high, "My animosity towards Blaine is only out of playing the role in some friendly rivalry. But as for who I think should replace him – well, isn't it obvious?"

Sebastian snorted, "If you say your name, Jeff, please don't excuse me if I laugh in your face."

"I was going to suggest, Nick!" Jeff said, going red, his blonde hair falling out of place. Sebastian went to counter again but Thad got in first. "I agree!" he said, standing up next to join Jeff by his side, "If Blaine is the best we have then we have to save our best till last. In the meantime I propose the council rethink their decision and I too, vote that Nick be our voice for sectionals."

Nick looked around the room, completely stunned with the new proposal, "Look guys, I appreciate the support but it isn't necessary. Blaine auditioned fairly against me and he won. We have to keep using our best foot forward. If we don't we might not even make it past sectionals."

Trent shot his hand up in the air but started speaking before anyone, least of all Wes, acknowledged him. "Hear hear! This is after all our last opportunity to win with Blaine by our side; we all know he is graduating this year. I'm not saying that Nick wouldn't be capable of getting us past sectionals but if we lose we won't have another opportunity to win with Blaine again."

There was murmuring around the room, the council seemed deep in debating everything the Warblers were bringing forward. Jeff was the first to cut the noise, "Personally Warblers, I don't know how much stock we can put into relying on Blaine to stick out with us for the whole year."

At this, Blaine finally seemed to have found his voice again, "What's _that_ supposed to mean?" He was angry and surprisingly so; though they were a couple of years apart he and Jeff had always got along. Jeff started walking over to Blaine, stopping over where it was increasingly obvious how much taller he was than him. He stood unafraid.

"It means that I'm not pussy enough to floozy my way out of school the way you have."

Well, that certainly peaked Blaine's anger. Because even though Sebastian had tried to stop him, Blaine marched right up to Jeff and shoved him hard.

Poor Wes had all but given up on his gavel ,"I will have order!"

David raised an eyebrow, "Really? An Umbridge quote? Please don't."

Trent was holding Blaine back and Thad was holding off Jeff which surprised Blaine because he would have thought Thad would have supported Jeff wanting to take a punch at him. But it was ultimately Nick who broke up the fight.

"Enough! We can't argue like this so close to sectionals. We need to be a united front if we're going to win and we can't do that if we're fighting and yelling at each other! So – council – _please_ make a decision and for the love of God Jeff, just sit down!"

Jeff sighed and did so, still looking angry.

"Trent," Blaine muttered, "You can let go of me now."

"Oh… sorry."

Wes was still standing up, "Now that we finally have some order again, ("_Wes!"_ reminded David), the council has had time to go over the points everyone has presented today and we agree that Blaine – should be replaced by Nick during Sectionals."

"What?" Blaine protested, "Wes, that isn't fair! I worked hard for that solo, I earned it!"

"Without a doubt! But we need to start showcasing other talent if we want out competition to be worried about _all_ the Warblers, not just you."

Blaine glared at Jeff who wasn't looking his way on purpose. The Warblers had always stuck by him, always encouraged him, always made him feel more important then he really was, and now, God knows why, Jeff had squashed all those feelings right out of him.

Wes ordered everyone into position so they could get ready to begin their Destiny's Child cover and while all Blaine wanted to do was storm out of the room, he had to be mature and swallow his pride. He had to admit he had liked Nick's solo and the council was only trying to make the Warblers the best they could be.

But why did he feel like there was a voice reminding him that some things were worth fighting for?

~.~

Back in Kurt's classroom, Blaine had finally finished telling his story, "And so, I feel like I'm settling. I feel like I should be fighting for this thing I really want but you know, they tell you to pick your battles, should I let this one go? What do you think, sir?"

_I think it should be illegal for you to look so delicious in those jeans, _is what Kurt thought but instead he said, "Did you want me to go and talk to them?"

"No I – I can't give Jeff another reason to have a go at me – which he certainly will if it lets loose that I've run off to a teacher. I can't believe he lashed out at me like that."

"If it's any consolation, I don't think his animosity was against you personally, I think he really is just thinking about what's best for the Warblers. He did after all seem very excited when you auditioned."

"Yeah well, you know what I think? I think he's in love with Nick."

"Doesn't he have a girlfriend?"

"That's not the point."

"Ah, you remind me of the Germans in the nineteen thirty's who used to slur their enemies by publically falsifying their sexuality."

Blaine looked mortified, "I'm not a Nazi supporter!"

"I wasn't trying to imply that you were! Anyway, it is not my place to comment who Jeff is or isn't in love with."

Blaine took a step closer towards him, "Okay. Let's change the subject… what were you saying about last night, Kurt?" Blaine's voice had suddenly become lower and Kurt was instantly reminded of loud music, cowboys, Holly Holliday dancing on a table and how he had been making out with an extremely sexy man on the dance floor…

"Nothing!" Kurt said, a little flustered, "I d-don't know what you're talking about…"

"Really?" Blaine asked, "You're going to play that angle? You know exactly what happened last night. And I'll be more than happy to take you back to that place again sometime to remind you."

Kurt sighed and closed his eyes briefly – when he opened them again he made sure he was looking anywhere but at Blaine. "You know I'm not supposed to be meeting you outside of school, Blaine."

Blaine inched closer, "Then when do your remedial lessons start?" He moved his hands onto Kurt's hips and Kurt was so moved by the touch he was resigned to hold his breath momentarily. He quickly broke from Blaine's grasp, and from behind him on his table pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to Blaine. "Will you stick this on the bulletin wall? And add your friend Sebastian's name to the list. He's agreed to attend classes too."

"Sebastian?" Blaine asked aloud scribbling his name flawlessly as the first one on the signup sheet. "He doesn't need any remedial tutoring. He practically speaks the language fluently."

"Oh I know. I asked him to be my assistant."

Blaine snorted, "And he agreed?"

"He wants to get into Stanford. He could do with the extra cred."

Blaine shook his head and made his way closer to Kurt again, "Why are you talking to me about Sebastian? Are you trying to distract yourself from the memory of last night? Because if you thought kissing me was good, wait till my lips find themselves somewhere else…"

Kurt whimpered, "I have to go cock - _cook! _Cook! I meant _cook!_ I'm cooking for my dad and brother and they eat enough to feed a small village so…"

Blaine lowered his face. He placed a small kiss on his fingers and then placed those fingers on Kurt's lips before striding out of the room leaving Kurt behind speechless.

~.~


	7. Pretty Handsome Awkward

**The Stranger's Son**

_paperstylehearts_

…Chapter Seven…_ Pretty Handsome Awkward_

Cooking was definitely one of Kurt's strong points. After Blaine had left him, Kurt had driven all the way to Burt's place, knowing his dad wouldn't be home till seven thirty giving him a good solid few hours to get everything ready. It helped that he knew where everything was in the kitchen and that he didn't have to worry about empty pantries because Carole lived here.

And so – wearing the apron that had once belonged to his mom, Kurt cooked up a storm. There was pasta salad (low fat mayo of course), and potato bake and roast chicken accompanied with peas and gravy. He'd even got together some lemon meringue pie. Anyone would think it was Christmas at the Hummel-Hudson residence.

Kurt finally had everything ready by eight letting it all stay warm in the oven with the bread rolls while he set the table using the kitchen lighter to brighten the place with some candles. And then he waited.

And waited.

It was nearing eight thirty when the anticipation of springing the surprise on Burt and Finn was starting to reach its peak. Kurt settled for some TV to stop himself from glancing out the window every two minutes – where were they?

Repeats of American Idol were on but one look at Ryan Seacrest's face and Kurt just wanted to slap him. Who wore their hair like that and got away with it? Seriously…

He flicked through the channels. There were also a few pre-recorded episodes of Project Runway too but although Kurt was behind he had already watched those. He resisted the urge to text Burt or Finn – this was meant to be a surprise after all – and was contemplating composing a subtle message to Carole when he realized it was just after nine and if his family didn't come home soon he was going to have to start packing everything away.

He paced the living room before it started putting him way too on edge so he sunk into Burt's armchair exhausted and was just resting his eyes when…

He was awoken abruptly by Finn singing some top forty hit at the top of his lungs. Kurt glanced at his watch. He'd been asleep for almost an hour as the time was now reaching ten. He took his mom's apron off abruptly before the voices started to register in his brain.

"Wow, something smells delicious! – where on Earth did this all come from?" – Carole.

"Do you think it would be okay if I grabbed another plate?" – Finn.

Kurt stood up slowly. Burt was the first to walk in and see him there. One look at his exhausted son and he knew the answer to Carole's question straight away. "Kurt – this is all because of your new car? You did all this?"

"Yeah," Kurt said, a little sleepily but mostly just tired, "It was going to be a surprise but I didn't know you'd be home so late tonight so…"

"I would have told you had I known you were coming. It's just I've kinda gotten used to you not living here and you don't really pop on over unannounced. But it looks really good and I'm sorry we missed it."

"It's okay, Dad. I bought some of my Tupperware so you can take it in for lunch tomorrow. Where were you all anyway?"

"Went out for dinner with a friend and his son. He's my client from the other day. C'mon I'll introduce you."

"Wow, just like that, you've reached the record for your fastest bromance. How old did you say his son was?" _I wonder if he's cute_.

Burt rolled his eyes and ignored the question but Kurt's answer would not be lost to him; he stepped into the kitchen and froze right where he stood.

The stranger's son was the first to break the silence. "Monsieur Hummel?"

Kurt felt the increasingly growing knot in his stomach tighten. Beside him, Burt chuckled softly, "Well how about that? I forgot that you were Blaine's French teacher. This here is Alex, Blaine's father."

Alex held out his hand but Kurt simply looked at it. "We've met," was all he said.

Burt looked curiously between Alex and Kurt, "How is it that you two know each other again?"

Kurt didn't know what to say. Luckily, Alex was quick with his answer, "Oh, you know, it was like you said - Kurt is Blaine's teacher."

Burt nodded, seemingly accepting this as a feasible answer. "Did you want a beer, Al? I've got a six pack in the fridge."

"Yeah, sure, that would be great."

Burt moved towards the fridge while Carole abruptly mentioned something about starting to pack away the food ("Finn! For the love of God, you've just _had_ dinner!"); Finn invited Blaine into his room to play the Xbox and Kurt returned to the living room silently; Alex following after him.

"What are you doing here?" he whispered, a little haughtily.

"Burt invited us over," Alex told him honestly, "Right after he fixed my car he invited us all out for baseball but since Leanne is still in Boston we thought we'd catch up over dinner tonight instead."

"Cute story. Still doesn't explain why you're here."

"Do you think I'm making this up?"

"No, I think you have another motive for being here."

Alex chuckled but he was clearly not amused, "The fact that I'm here has nothing to do with you, Kurt. In all honesty, Burt is a great guy and Blaine seems to get along really well with Finn."

It was Kurt's turn to mirror amusement, "That's because Finn doesn't know he's gay."

Alex was quick with his response too, "Considering you are as well, I can hardly see why Finn would have a problem with that. But, for some reason, you seem to."

Kurt awkwardly fidgeted with his hands, "This is just weird for me, that's all."

"Why? Because you're my son's teacher? Because you slept with me and then threw my number out the next day?"

Kurt rolled his eyes, "Stop playing the victim! It wasn't like you just weren't only looking for sex either!"

"Doesn't stop the fact that I wanted to get to know you." Alex took a slow step forward closer to Kurt, "I still do."

'_Oh wow.' _Kurt thought, '_This is awkward.'_

"I'm just not looking for anything right now." Oldest copout excuse in the book…

"That's fine. Like I said, I just… want to get to know you."

Kurt still wasn't able to meet Alex's eyes. "There really isn't anything _to_ get to know about me. I'm a twenty-two year old high school French teacher who lives alone in an apartment I won't have paid out till I'm forty. That's it."

Alex placed a hand on Kurt's shoulder, "See that's where you're wrong."

"Really? Enlighten me." Ooh, Kurt couldn't wait to hear this. He was right about everything after all. And if Alex thought he somehow knew him better than he knew himself after one night then he'd sure love to hear it.

"Well, I can tell simply alone by the way you dress that you have an eye for fashion and, judging from the delicious smell still coming from the kitchen, you cook just as amazingly… How am I doing?"

"Carry on."

"Your father owns a tire shop. Your step-brother helps out and it kills you because mechanics was never something you could get into, and it hurts, that Finn can connect with Burt over it better than you will ever be able to. You live in an apartment by yourself, and as a result, despite how many friends you have, you're lonely and you still find yourself waking up in the bed of a stranger every so often because -even though that's not you and you hate yourself for doing it - sometimes the loneliness is just too much that it gnaws at you and results in several one-night stands."

There was a small pause. Kurt's eyes narrowed; he looked pissed off. Alex sighed, "…Still want me to continue?"

"First tell me this," Kurt said, "How exactly can you make such presumptions about me? You don't' even know me! We had _one_ night together, Alex, _one_."

Alex let go of Kurt's shoulder, "Because I went through that phase too! And we have so much in common! Admittedly, I was never one for fashion but I know well enough to know when a man dresses well and when he doesn't. As for the food, I do love to cook. And I loved my dad too but I had the same problems bonding with him which is why it took me so long to come out. I just didn't want to admit that being gay was the reason we couldn't connect like he could with my brother. And look, I know I have Blaine and Leanne and I'm grateful, truly. But I know what it's like to be alone in a crowded room. But… seeing you at that party and how easy it was for us to get along and how smoothly we talked and - (Alex's voice dropped to a whisper) – how _amazing _the sex was; it just allowed the loneliness in me to become overwhelming and I know I would be crazy to pass you by. I know I can't force you to like me and I'm not the kind of guy who's gonna try to either. But, Kurt, you shouldn't be closing yourself off to opportunities."

Kurt remained silent. He just… he really didn't know what to say. Why was he so subjective towards Alex? He wasn't sure he knew the answer to that either.

"Now," resumed Alex, "Burt is waiting for me with that six pack and I know I could do with a beer right now myself so… I'm going to give you my number again. You can toss it out like you did last time if that's what you want to do otherwise… I'll be happy to hear from you again."

He smiled at Kurt briefly before heading out to join Burt in the living room. Kurt just stood there for the longest time tracing over the paper absently between his fingers. He noticed the smooth elegant ink that Alex had used to write his number and that the white paper was as smooth as silk.

What he didn't notice was that Blaine was standing just outside the kitchen and that he had just heard the entire conversation between Alex and Kurt, word for word.

~.~

"So, do you have a girlfriend?" Finn asked Blaine casually as he returned to Finn's room with a couple more beers fresh out of the fridge. The question made Blaine smile. He was so used to being open to everyone about who he was he had forgotten that Finn of course, didn't know. "Er – no. I um – oh wow, it's been a while since I've had to say anything that I've forgotten the right etiquette. How do you tell someone you're gay without having to worry if they think you're hitting on them?"

Finn shrugged, "All good bro. My brother's gay too. Although he did have a crush on me at one point. It was weird. Do you want a beer?"

"Thank you but I probably shouldn't. I'm only eighteen."

"Oh yeah. You are. I probably shouldn't be telling you stuff about Kurt then considering you're his student and all so… ready to take me on?" He held out the Xbox controller to Blaine.

"Did you just make an _A-Ha_ reference?"

"What?"

"You know… A-Ha? Norwegian pop band? Mid '80's… _Take on me, take on me. Take me on…_?" Blaine started to sing but Finn just sat there confused. Blaine sighed, "Forget I said anything. And thanks for the offer but I'm not really up for video games anymore. Actually, do you know where Monsieur Hummel is?"

Not for the first time that night, Finn looked spaced out, "Oh right, you mean Kurt. Not a clue. If I had to guess he's probably sulking over his ruined plan to cook for us in his old room. Why?"

Blaine hurried to think of the best excuse that would make him sound casual, "Oh you know, I wasn't at school today, I should probably go get my homework off him."

"Someone's keen," Finn commented, "Dude, when I had days off from school I used to use them as an excuse to have my girlfriend over to, you know, catch me up."

Blaine nodded and Finn suddenly remembered his question, eyes still on his video game, "Kurt's old room is downstairs in the basement. If he's not watching TV with Dad or in the kitchen with Mom, that's where he'll be."

Blaine thanked him and made his way out of the room, down the stairs tentatively spying into the kitchen where Carole was making tea but she was alone. He then spied carefully on Alex and Burt but it was just the two of them yelling at the players on the TV as though they could hear it.

So, according to Finn, this meant that Kurt was in his room. By himself.

Blaine sighed and found his way to the basement where, because the door was ajar, Kurt didn't hear him step in. He had his back to Blaine and he was holding a framed photo in his hand. Blaine didn't wait for Kurt to turn around, or even realize he was there, before he spoke to him. He knew what he had to say to Kurt. He had only rehearsed it about ten times over in his head on the way down here.

"His favorite food is chicken soufflé. He works a lot but he always has time for the people he loves. His favorite show at the moment is Desperate Housewives but he'll never admit it and he prefers local theatre productions to Broadway. He's also the greatest guy I know – he's my hero – and I just think you should take that all into consideration before you turn him down again."

Now that's Blaine monologue had ended, Kurt finally turned around. He placed the photo he had face down on the table in front of him. "Blaine," he said softly, his voice extremely quiet. He paused, seeming to almost struggle with the words, and then, still in a whisper he said, "You forgot to mention the part where… he also has a… an _amazing_ son."

It took a while for the sentence to register in Blaine's head, "Wait… you mean?"

"Yeah… I do. And I knew exactly why I walked out on Alex the first time but I couldn't figure out why I would be crazy to turn a guy like him down again after tonight. And then I realized I knew the answer but I just… I wouldn't – I still can't - let myself admit it."

"Kurt-"

"Let me finish. I'm still your teacher. And I'm still not entirely comfortable with the idea because of it. But the first three months of my contract at Dalton are only probationary so, _if_ we decide to do this, as much as Saunders won't like it, I will end my contract then."

"You're going to quit your job?"

"I'm sure Holly will need me covering her again somewhere soon enough. And I wouldn't mind designing costumes for Julie now that she's back and will undoubtedly need my help—which, if I'm going to do, I'm definitely going to need to switch from fulltime anyway. Do you—do you get what I'm trying to say Blaine?"

He stood shuffling his feet nervously from where he stood; it was almost as if he couldn't decide which direction he wanted to move. Part of him wanted to walk towards Kurt and hold him but at the same time he wanted to run right out of that basement and forget where this conversation was heading. This wasn't supposed to accumulate on him like this. Yeah, he meant for Kurt to fall for him but only so he could crush him, not for everything to backfire instead… because even though he couldn't admit it, even though it hadn't really been all that long, Blaine was starting to think that he liked Kurt a little more than he was ever intending to.

"I think I get what you're saying, I just…" This was a bit overwhelming for him. It was all happening so fast. One minute he's plotting diabolically with Sebastian against the boy standing right in front of him and now all he wanted to do was hold him in his arms and tell him that everything was going to be okay. But he was also conflicted because the whole time he had been trying to get back at Kurt he hadn't realized Alex had still liked him and now… now Blaine's plan had failed because he was starting to get that jittery feeling like butterflies in his stomach, the one that sent the message to his brain and heart that he, he liked Kurt too.

"I have something to tell you," he said and when Kurt looked at him to continue, only then that's what he did. "I mean, you have been nothing but honest with me and now I think it's only fair that I was honest with you." Blaine shifted uncomfortably again, dropping his gaze to the floor. "As you know I really look up to my dad, like I told you, he's my hero. So when I saw you come out of his apartment the other day and just walk out on him like that, I had this – _idea_ – in my head that I could get back at you if I made you fall for me and… that's why I began flirting with you."

Kurt just stared, blinking furiously, trying to force himself to not think of how _stupid_ he had been and then he suddenly snapped, "You mean _everything _that happened between us was just an elaborate plan? Oh God, I can't believe I was naive enough to believe that you actually liked me! Just – just leave, Blaine! You wanted to hurt me? Well, congratu-_fucking_-lations!" Kurt desperately picked up the photo frame and held it close to his heart. "Just go!" But Blaine wasn't done.

"No, please Kurt, hear me out. If I still wanted to hurt you, do you really think I would be telling you any of this? At first, yes, I was angry and I know it's just been a few days but - I'm _insatiably_ attracted to you and I want to do this. I really want there to be an 'us', I do. Please Kurt, don't you get it? I know what I was thinking of was stupid but it was never going to work because I don't think I would have ever been able to ignore the way I feel about you."

When Kurt still didn't say anything Blaine nodded in resignation, "Okay. Okay, I understand. You probably still just want me to leave so…"

"Blaine," Kurt said desperately, hoping he wouldn't shoot himself later for saying this but, "Did anyone ever tell you that you watch way too much Gossip Girl?"

The comment was unexpected but brought a smile to Blaine's face nonetheless. "I've been told I look like Dan."

Kurt shook his head. "Only you wear way more hair gel. And I'm still confused. I – I don't know what to think, I don't even know where we stand. All I know is I am scared about how attracted I am to you, and I'm scared about what this relationship is going to mean and I… I'm scared of having my heart broken and you – you almost did that."

"Almost," Blaine whispered, "But I didn't. And I know I meant to but I don't think I could intentionally hurt you. Or my Dad. I don't even know what I'm supposed to tell him."

"I don't think we should tell anyone just yet. Not until I've finished my probation and you've finished school. And your dad is a wonderful and handsome man. I'm sure he'll find someone, although he probably won't want to ever see me again."

Blaine stood very still, "I still feel really bad though. And I feel even more down for upsetting you."

"I'll get over it. But I know how much you love your dad. I'd hate to spoil that. That is why we have to keep this a secret. But to be honest with you, I don't really know what I'm doing." He walked over to Blaine resting his hands on his waist and holding him gently.

Blaine brought him up closer nuzzling his head into Kurt's neck. "Then I guess we share the same secret. I don't really know what I'm doing either." He lifted his head slowly and pressed soft small kisses to Kurt's neck. It was then that he noticed the photo.

"Who's that?" he asked curiously.

Kurt picked it up to show him and Blaine was now looking at a woman who very much resembled _Enchanted_ actress Amy Adams with her long dark hair and familiar blue eyes.

"That's Elizabeth Hummel," Kurt explained, "My mom."

"She's beautiful. It must be hard, I know, my parents split up too. Do you get to see her often?"

"She died when I was eight. No – it's okay," Kurt quickly added when he saw the look on Blaine's face, "I'm okay. I mean I just come to her for guidance sometimes. It's nice to be able to have that one person you can trust when you feel like you can't talk to anyone else."

"You know," Blaine whispered, "If you let me, I'll be that person for you."

Kurt sighed, there were tears reaching his eyes as he cupped Blaine's face and Blaine didn't hesitate; he leaned forward and pressed his lips on Kurt's and threw his hands over his neck. Kurt gripped Blaine's sides harder pulling him impossibly closer to him, tongues greeting each other as they deepened the kiss.

The kiss was so much more than it was yesterday night but still just as intoxicating. Blaine's hands had slid under Kurt's shirt now and were gently pressing his chest which caused Kurt to gasp loudly – but the moment didn't last.

"Blaine?" called Alex from upstairs, "Where are you? It's time we headed back Champ! Come on!"

Blaine stared into Kurt's eyes and Kurt stared right back; they stood unmoving neither wanting to be the first to let the other go.

"Looks like I have to go," Blaine whispered.

"Looks like you do," Kurt agreed.

Blaine gently kissed his forehead and pressed lightly against his lips, "I'll see you tomorrow. Sleep easy, _sir_."

Kurt watched him go and shut the door behind him. The second he was gone, Kurt collapsed into a heap on the floor, crying harder than he had in a long time. It was so hard. Everything was so _hard. _And none of it fair; why wasn't he allowed to be happy? He held Elizabeth's photo to him again as he reached for his cell and dialed a number he had no intention of saving.

"Well?" a voice asked on the other end of the phone, not even bothering to say hello first.

"I told him," Kurt choked, "I told him how I really felt. He… he doesn't suspect anything."

"Good," the voice replied and then hung up. Kurt threw his head into his hands and allowed the pain to consume him. He tossed his phone aside and collapsed on his old bed where he stayed for the longest time.

~.~


	8. Rumor Has It

**The Stranger's Son**

_paperstylehearts_

…Chapter Eight…_ Rumor Has It_

Blaine hated Wednesdays. They weren't quite Mondays where he was still riding off the high of the weekend just days before or quite like Fridays where he was getting ready to ride off the high of the weekend to come. They were smack bang in the middle and ironically he supposed that's how he felt at the moment. Stuck in the middle. It was almost accurate enough to say that today he felt like a Wednesday.

"Blaine, are you even listening to me?" Sebastian asked. He had been going on and on about – _something_ – but Blaine was too busy still thinking of Wednesdays and how much he hated them even more today - because he didn't have French on Wednesdays.

Sebastian was starting to get annoyed. "Look, I'm only trying to help you. May I remind you that you're the one who came to me asking for help and if you only just heard me out you'd have Kurt in no time."

At the mention of Kurt's name, Blaine was suddenly switched on again. "Oh, is that what you were going on about? About that – the plan is off. I'm no longer interested in getting revenge anymore."

Sebastian suddenly become very still. He didn't know why it was such a blow to him to hear Blaine say that but the words came out before he really thought about what he was going to say. "So you don't want to sleep with me anymore?"

"What?" Blaine asked, obviously annoyed with the question, "That's what your concern is? You're not even going to ask me why?"

Sebastian sighed, realizing he had approached this the wrong way. But he was so uncharacteristically upset with himself now. When he spoke his voice was almost broken. "Okay. Fine. I'm sorry. _Why_?"

And Blaine meant to tell him. Blaine meant to tell him all about last night and how he and Kurt had decided that since they were both undeniably attracted to each other that they were going to _try_ but… they had both promised that they would keep that between them so instead Blaine said, "Alex became friends with Kurt's dad."

And then, just like that, the conversation was dropped. And really, it shouldn't have mattered to Sebastian that Blaine was no longer interested with his initial proposal. If all Sebastian was after was sex and collecting v-cards there were plenty boys here at Dalton ready to hand over theirs to him. But ever since Blaine had come to Sebastian with his idea, an unexplainable need had consumed him, (something he liked to better think of as a weak crush of sorts), and he hadn't been able to get the idea of sleeping with Blaine out of his head. He was certainly angry with himself for it; it was his golden rule of survival to 'fuck and forget,' but he hadn't even got to second base with Blaine yet and the thought was the very reason he caught himself foolishly staring at him so attentively in their AP English class now.

Blaine, of course, was clueless, only taking any notice of Sebastian when he needed to borrow a pen.

It was on their way to their next period that Sebastian felt the need to speak to Blaine again. "Hey, can I ask you something? We're friends, right?"

"Unfortunately…" Blaine mumbled almost immediately—but then he smiled. "Why the sudden need to ask?"

Sebastian quickly made himself appear distracted so Blaine wouldn't notice how weak he must've looked. "Hypothetically speaking, you would date me right?"

He didn't expect Blaine to answer the question so fast but his answer came within seconds and he was practically laughing at him. "You can't be serious, right? Hypothetically or not, I'm not that stupid. _You?_ Really? Your middle name is 'Heartbreaker.' You don't do the whole boyfriend thing. You use guys for sex, and you don't care who you hurt along the way, including those brave enough to admit that they care about you. So don't forgive me when I say no, I would never date you. And as your friend, I have the heads up to know exactly what kind of boyfriend you'd be and there's no way I'm willing to risk such a messy relationship."

Blaine ended his monologue laughing and Sebastian joined him; it was his way of mentally throwing up walls to not give in to how hurt he really was. "Okay then – so what kind of guy _would_ you date?"

"Why do you even care?" Blaine retorted still laughing but there was only a slight pause before he was able to answer, "I'd date someone who I knew really cared about me. I'd date someone who believed in love. He'd also have to really be into music and have a good heart and want to protect mine too. You know, a guy who exerts passion and confidence with every step he takes. Someone with a bit of sass but no one too arrogant and I wouldn't even mind if he was a bit emotional because it'd prove the underlying fact, that we are after all just human."

Blaine shrugged and stared off into the distance but quickly dropped his look to the floor when he noticed Sebastian was looking at him with his eyebrows raised. Because when Blaine had been describing his ideal man he had been looking right at their French teacher standing at the end of the hall when he had said it.

~.~

Throughout the rest of the day, Sebastian kept an eye on Blaine. He didn't appear to be any different than he was any other day but there was something new about him that he just couldn't pinpoint.

His hair was styled the same way (with precisely the exact amount of gel that he had in it yesterday), his uniform was crisp and neat as always and he was still carrying the same Prada satchel he had since freshman year, pink Ray Bans poking out of the end pocket. But there was definitely something different. It was the way he looked; the way he carried his smile. He had an odd glow about him—like he was happier with himself. Of course, Sebastian didn't know what it was because he had never been lucky enough to experience it himself.

Unknown to Sebastian, Blaine was _smitten_.

And then it was time for remedial French to start. Sebastian and Blaine aside, there were more than a few students who had shown up. Most of them were just eager for extra credit as that was the only way their parents would continue to give into them. It also proved that Kurt had been right to ask for Sebastian's help. He quickly started class by pairing the freshmans with Sebastian allowing him able to give his undivided attention to the rest of the class – and to Blaine.

As he walked by his desk, Kurt peered over at Blaine's work.

"_Très bien, Monsieur Anderson!_ _Vous avez amélioré!" _

("Very good, Mr. Anderson. You've improved!")

Blaine looked up at his teacher. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Sebastian distracted by the freshmans which was excellent because even though he planned to whisper now, he didn't want Sebastian listening in.

"_Mes__devoirs__a encore besoin__d'aide.__Offrez-vous des__cours particuliers__?"_

("My homework still needs some help. Do you offer private tutoring?")

Kurt smiled, "_C'est une merveilleuse idée! _ ("That's a wonderful idea!") His accent was incredible – and sexy. "_Ma maison__est disponible__après l'école."_ ("My place is free after school.")

Kurt briefly placed a hand on Blaine's shoulder as he moved passed to tend to some juniors. Blaine turned to watch him walk away for a second but a second was all it took for Sebastian to notice – and grow suspicious.

~.~

After helping Kurt collect all the papers they had worked through in the lesson, Kurt wasn't sure why Sebastian was still standing in front of his desk, looking at him curiously.

"You're free to go Monsieur Smythe," Kurt told him waving a hand absentmindedly, "I've already held you back from your Warblers rehearsal long enough. I won't have another remedial class till Friday but if you could come see me after our senior French period tomorrow I can give you a heads up on the weekend work I plan to assign to the boys."

Sebastian didn't say anything. In fact, he didn't even move at all. He just stood there, arms crossed, with a stupid grin on his face.

"Is there something you needed?" Kurt asked, a little annoyed, "I don't have pen on my face, do I?"

"You like Blaine," Sebastian said simply.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. You like Blaine. And if I'm not mistaken – Blaine likes you too."

"Listen…" Kurt began, shaking his head, "I can understand how the rumors associated with Mademoiselle Rousseau would cause you to falsely predict another teacher-student involvement but this time you're way off."

Sebastian didn't agree and he made it a point to make sure Kurt knew that. "No, Mr. Hummel, you listen. Giselle was a sex-starved slut who got what was coming for her. She flirted with everyone, even me. The school board was right to investigate. However what you're doing with Blaine is worse. Trust me, I've been with enough boys to know what's going between you two, so even if the rest of the school doesn't catch onto your secret rendezvous you can't keep it secret from me. But look, I don't have anything against you. I think you're a great teacher. I just don't want you to… lose your job." _And I like Blaine._ Sebastian thought to himself._ I really like Blaine._

Kurt moved his arms across his chest in an almost protective like stance though the look on his face told a different story. "I don't care if she no longer works here, you have no right to call any teacher, past or present by that name! And not that it's any of your business, but if I appear to be more comfortable with Mr. Anderson, it's only because I recently became involved with his father just before I commenced employment here!" Kurt was lying, of course, but the shocked look on Sebastian's face was worth it.

_Take that! _Kurt thought, _and of course you'd recognize a sex-starved slut when you saw one since you're one yourself!_

Sebastian started to put two and two together. "So _that's_ who Blaine meant when he said he wanted to get revenge on you for hurting someone he knew… oh wait, I'm sorry, did I let that slip?"

He didn't look very sorry at all but Kurt was prepared, "It's a matter we've already discussed so despite what you think, you have nothing on me. Now don't you have somewhere you need to be?"

There was no chance for Sebastian to answer though because Kurt's phone suddenly began to ring. And when Kurt looked down at the familiar caller ID, he suddenly felt sick, because the person calling _did_ have something on him…

Kurt blinked himself back to reality. "I have to take this," he said quickly ushering Sebastian out of the room. And you, y-you need to leave!"

He almost pushed Sebastian out and locked the door behind him. Confused and a little insulted, Sebastian dusted off his blazer and headed for Warbler practice.

~.~

When Blaine joined glee rehearsal that afternoon, the silence in the Warbler's practice room was deafening. "Hey guys, what's going on?" he asked cheerfully.

"Oh, you know," Jeff said pretending to be very interested in the carpet, "We were just talking about Harry Potter."

"Oh my God, I love Harry Potter!" Blaine said enthusiastically moving forward quickly to join them. "Is it me or is it not obvious that there was something between Dumbledore and Grindewald?"

Nick looked very awkward. Blaine could tell because Nick was doing that thing with his hair that he only did when he was nervous. "Uh, actually, we were talking about the Defense Against the Dark Arts class."

"That's right," quipped Trent. Even though he looked like Neville, he was a lot sassier. "We were commenting about how the position was cursed; how every year they got a new teacher. Kinda like the position our French class is in. Maybe the French job here at Dalton is cursed too. Oh wow, Dalton is practically Hogwarts!"

Blaine was instantly confused, "I'm sorry – did I miss something?"

Jeff actually laughed, "Well, it's just first Rousseau was rumored to be messing around with someone and now Hummel is following in her footsteps. I wonder how long it'll take the board to get a clue this time."

Blaine, who had been trying to decipher what Jeff found so interesting about the carpet, finally gave up. "_What_ are you guys talking about?"

"Stop playing so innocent, Blaine!" Jeff spat, "Give it up! You know the rumors are about _you_."

"What rumors? You mean me and—_Monsieur Hummel? _ I don't even have any idea what is going on! And if you really do believe it then—then they're about as true as the rumors about you and Nick!"

"Jeff has a girlfriend?" Nick said out loud but everyone was so intrigued in the conversation between Blaine and Jeff that not even Wes had even bothered to use his gavel. At that moment, Sebastian made his grand entrance into the room. "Hey Warblers, what's cracking?"

David caught him up, "Well rumor has it Blaine and Monsieur Hummel are… well, that they're doing _it_."

"I protest!" Blaine said out loud and confident, but inside his heard was racing. He hadn't even known Kurt for a week and already _this_ was happening? He had to say something to throw them off and he needed to come up with something fast. "Not that it's any one of yours business but I'm still a virgin!" Then, in an act of desperate measure, he slung his arm around Sebastian's waist, "And we wanted to keep this news secret until after sectionals but Sebastian and I are dating!"

Sebastian felt his body tingle all over at Blaine's touch. Of course, he needed to add his two cents. "And Monsieur Hummel is dating Blaine's dad so stop grossing my… my b-boyfriend out!"

Blaine, who thought Sebastian was just playing along, simply nodded.

Now that things seemed to have some order to them, Wes' gavel finally reached its podium. "Order, Warblers, _order_! I hope now that everyone has learnt that it never pays well to listen to rumors, we're all going to listen to, and rehearse, a number from Fleetwood Mac's _Rumors_ album. From the top, Warblers!"

~.~

"_I have something to tell you!"_

Blaine and Kurt couldn't help but laugh at each other—they had only said exactly the same thing to each other at exactly the same time.

"_You go first!"_

More laughter. "Oops, we—did it a-gain!" Blaine sang jokingly. "No really, you go first."

"Okay," Kurt gave in, still smiling, "I sort of told Sebastian I was going out with your Dad."

"So that explains Warblers practice…" Blaine muttered, "Okay my turn. I sorta told the Warblers I was going out with Sebastian."

Kurt actually giggled. A cute giggle in which he covered his mouth with the palm of his hand and looked so sexy Blaine felt his pants grow a little tighter. "Let me guess," Kurt continued, "They heard rumors that we were an item?"

Blaine nodded, "Unfortunately. Which means—I'm going to have to keep up this façade that I'm with Sebastian for a while. Or at least for the three months that you're still teaching at Dalton."

Kurt sighed, "Well then, I might as well date your father."

"Hey!" Blaine protested, "Don't even _go_ there!"

Kurt pouted, "Oh I went there! You get to pretend date Sebastian and I don't get to pretend date anyone? You play a hard game, Mr. Anderson but you'll soon learn that I don't play fair."

Blaine smiled, nuzzling his nose against Kurt's, "Speaking of hard…"

Kurt's apartment was immaculate; he had no need to worry about tidying up for Blaine before he had got here as the place had been spotless. Sure, there were definitely things to tidy up now considering they had knocked down several items, including a potted plant, to get to where they were, comfortable on the sofa, their mouths practically glued together since their first feverish bout of kissing several moments ago.

Kurt very much liked that Blaine was on top of him right now. Despite not having discussed it, they knew that Kurt was more experienced, especially given the circumstances in which they had met. With Blaine on top of Kurt, it gave the younger boy control and Kurt was more than happy to let him take over. Blaine's Dalton tie was lost somewhere on the floor now, his shirt lazily tucked out of his school pants and his belt just begging to be thrown away. Kurt played with the buckle teasingly but Blaine just grinned as he grinded into Kurt causing the boy underneath him to throw his head back exposing the skin of his neck that Blaine liked to play with so much.

"You were saying something about not playing fair?" Blaine reminded him questioningly, "Well _you'll_ soon learn that I don't play by the rules either."

He leaned closer, appearing as if he wanted to kiss Kurt again, but just as the space between their lips was about to be closed, Blaine moved his mouth to Kurt's neck and began sucking hard, biting very lightly, and sucking and licking Kurt's delicate skin. Kurt was making nonsensical sounds beneath him that sounded like a small kitten. "B-Blaine!" he managed to say at last, but Blaine hushed him covering his mouth with his hand as he continued to suck Kurt's neck.

"I remember the first time I danced with you," Blaine whispered practically growling into Kurt's ear. "You were so goddamn sexy; I wanted to fuck you right on the dance floor. No guy had ever turned me on so much as you did which you got a good sense of when my cock was pressed up against your ass."

Kurt let out a moan, an irresistible senseless sexy sigh and for a split second Blaine lost the control he seemed to have and Kurt used that to his advantage as _he_ gained it; he didn't wait, he started sucking on Blaine's fingers. Blaine was speechless as he watched the hungry way Kurt worked his tongue all over five of them. He quickly swallowed, losing control over the pitch of his voice. "D-did you want to t-take this somewhere more c-comfortable?" he suggested, too deep in pleasure to even open his eyes as he said it.

Once again, Kurt didn't hesitate. "My. Room. Now."

Blaine didn't need telling twice. He practically jumped off Kurt removing his socks and throwing off his shirt as he raced for his room. As Kurt got up, rather unsteadily, to join him, he felt his cell vibrate in his pocket. He whipped it out quickly to read the text.

"_Hope you like your room. I did a little… redecorating."_

"SHIT!" Kurt cursed out loud, "Blaine! Don't go in my—"

"What the fuck-?" He heard Blaine say loudly enough for Kurt to hear and Kurt swore again. He ran over to where Blaine was and literally threw open the door to his room.

He gasped.

~.~


	9. Teenagers

**The Stranger's Son**

_paperstylehearts_

**A/N: **In case anyone hadn't picked up on it yet, or is a little confused, Kurt is being blackmailed. You'll get to learn all about his past in this chapter and unfortunately I'm really horrible to him. :(

**Warning:** Mild non con. Do not read if this is a trigger. Thank you.

_For Limor. Thank you for being so patient!_

* * *

><p><em>~.~<em>

…Chapter Nine…_ Teenagers_

Kurt knelt down, knees first in his room. It was all he could do to stop from collapsing onto the floor. "Kurt…" Blaine said; he was in shock too, "Kurt—we need to tell someone. We should call my dad, he can help, he's a –"

"No!" Kurt interrupted. "We can't tell anyone! You need to promise me that. Blaine, this remains between us, okay?" Blaine stood behind Kurt and placed his hands on Kurt's shoulders; their fingers automatically found their way through to each other, linking firmly with one another. Kurt closed his eyes. "Kurt…" Blaine said, repeating his name again, "I'm so sorry… Who would have done this? Your room…"

Blaine trailed off because there were really no words to describe what they saw. The room was, in short, a wreck. It looked like a twister had struck except it was clear that _this_ twister had something personal against Kurt. Blaine walked over to one of Kurt's broken photo frames on the floor and picked it up.

"Blaine, I think you should leave."

"What? I'm not leaving you! Not in this state. Are you crazy?"

"Stop being such a drama queen, Blaine. I need to deal with this… this _mess_. I have to sort everything out."

Blaine raised an eyebrow, "Swallow your pride, Kurt. You're not alone. I want to help. Why not just let me?"

"Because…" Kurt sighed, consciously gripping his cell in his hand, "Because, I just need to be alone right now."

Blaine looked like he was mentally fighting a war in his head deciding if he should obey or ignore Kurt. Finally, he made up his mind. "…Okay," he said defeated, shrugging his shoulders, "I don't want to but I'll leave you to your own devices. If you need me, for whatever reason, just call me okay?" Kurt nodded but did not look at Blaine as he did. Blaine wished there was something more he could do to help. "So I'll see you tomorrow at school I guess…"

Blaine noticed that Kurt was breaking; he was already starting to tear up. "No…" he whispered slowly shaking his head. "I'm gonna need a couple of days to fix this and… spend a couple of days with… some _therapist_ most likely." It wasn't clear whether Kurt was serious about that last part but Blaine didn't question it. "Just make sure," Kurt added, "that Sebastian takes charge of remedial lessons for me…" Kurt turned around unable to watch Blaine leave. But Blaine didn't go immediately. He desperately wanted to hold Kurt but Kurt had said he just wanted to be alone and it really didn't look like he wanted any comfort. He sighed and left the room blowing him a kiss that Kurt did not see.

~.~

It turned out that Blaine had thought Kurt really was serious about that therapist and had given him a number to a place that was renowned for both its professionalism and anonymity. He had rung Kurt before school had started to tell him. "After what happened with—well you saw what was in my file—my connections in the psychiatric department suddenly broadened. This place is not concerned with promoting their name or becoming mainstream to make more money. It's just a small serene place where you get to talk to real people who genuinely seem concerned to hear what you've got to say. My mom's back from Boston for a couple of days so if you ring Alex's and no one's there, get me on 555…"

Kurt scribbled down the rest of the number. He didn't think he'd need it but after what had happened yesterday he wasn't sure what he needed anymore. Blaine, without realizing however, had encouraged Kurt to see someone confidentially about what had happened and this was how Kurt found himself in an office that fit no stereotypes because it looked nothing like an office, letting the receptionist know that he was here to see Dr. Reed.

The office-that-looked-nothing-like-an-office should have given away the fact that Dr. Reed was nothing like a normal doctor. But it was the second that he looked at her that Kurt knew she wasn't. For one, he noted that she wore really nice clothes just like Julie. She also had a kind face with shoulder length curly hair and a smile that looked familiar, like one he had come across in Vogue before. The second thing that Kurt noted was that she didn't push Kurt to talk. Doctors were forever rushing you in appointments but Dr. Reed was incredibly patient. She had after all for the first fifteen minutes of their session actually let Kurt sit there without saying a thing.

Kurt closed his eyes. He supposed he'd have to start talking soon and there was no place better to start then from the beginning. And going back to the beginning, to where it all began was a nightmare in itself. Especially because it meant remembering back to his old high school days at McKinley…

~.~

When Kurt was seventeen he was so sure of himself. He knew he had a voice to die over. He knew he wanted to get into Broadway - and that with his voice and star quality – that he was destined to. He knew that his short –lived (embarrassing) crush on Finn was long in the past. And he also knew that, despite promising himself that he would never fall for a straight man again, that he was suddenly and undeniably, attracted to Noah Puckerman.

Ever since Finn had decided to take on a mechanics apprenticeship with Kurt's dad, the Titans had needed a new captain and Noah had quickly filled that position. Throughout all of McKinley, Noah was suddenly more noticeable; teachers and students alike were aware of him and his prime status.

But…

It didn't explain why _Kurt_ was attracted to him. In fact, Kurt didn't know why he found Noah so appealing especially when a small voice kept telling him that he knew he could do better. After all, who wanted to date someone who went after cougars and made a living out of cleaning pools? And with that rep and the fact that it was rumored that Puck had slept with almost every girl in the school, Kurt didn't know why it was _Puck_ who made his hormones go crazy… And girls were lovely creatures (mostly) but they were definitely not Kurt's cup of tea. Not that he had told anyone yet.

He was sure his dad knew—despite the fact that he had brought Mercedes home multiple times trying to suggest otherwise. She had bailed on him; bored of their non-existent intimacy and had moved on with someone else. She didn't even have time to be Kurt's _friend_ anymore. And even though he had also seen a lot more of Rachel since she had started dating Finn, and was _always_ over at their house, she too was also preoccupied with her new boyfriend and it made Kurt achingly lonely.

It wasn't like Mercedes and Rachel were the only people in glee club but Kurt had nothing in common with his academically advanced wheel-chair friend Artie, or the oppositely academically challenged Brittany; Mike had Tina and they were always preoccupied with Asian Camp, and even the devil's advocate, Santana Lopez, seemed to get around. Quinn was president of the Celibacy Club (maybe he should try dating her? At the very least, she'd never ask him for sex). And then that left Puck…

Puck with his incredible biceps and stupid haircut that when styled correctly made him look so badass but so damn cute that Kurt was forced to hit himself to stop from staring. The amount of times he wanted to approach him, wanted to stop and just wave, but Puck was never alone; he always had an entourage of burly football guys among him or an infatuated teenage girl or two hanging desperately off one of his strongly muscular arms.

Even though Kurt was incredibly jealous of Finn occupying all his time with his father and his only friend, he decided he'd take the high road and concentrate on his studies. He was actually quite proud of himself for making that decision. Within the month, he'd managed a difficultly earned A on his chemistry test and he'd saved enough money that was usually spent going to the movies with Mercedes on an exclusive spring collection dress coat. That's why he couldn't understand why Mr. Horn had given him a B- on his English essay.

"Kurt, if you want to improve your grade, you're going to have to redo the paper. While you are one of my best students, this is unfortunately not your best work." Mr. Horn let out a sigh. He had heard the rumors about Kurt Hummel, the whispered insults in the corridors. He knew what the students here thought of Kurt, all the teachers did. But unfortunately, unless Kurt came to him and complained he wasn't in a position to do anything for him, though he wasn't really sure what the school _could_ do for Kurt in a situation like this. He liked Kurt, he really did, but lately it seemed like everything was just becoming too much for the young student and this was unfortunately affecting his studies. And as long as Kurt kept silent about it, Mr. Horn could not give him any allowances.

"Kurt—is everything okay?" he asked casually. Kurt folded his essay and stored it in his satchel. "Thank you for your concern, sir. But everything's fine. Now if you excuse me, I need to head to the library."

Kurt wasn't really in any mood to go to the library but the alternative meant going home and he would rather sit in the library then watch Burt silently marvel about everything that Finn was, everything that Kurt could never be. He didn't _have_ to study but why text Mercedes for ice-cream when she probably didn't remember his name? Or even Rachel when her most loved topic of discussion was herself? So, in the end, he ended up at the library, already mentally addressing several of the things he was going to change in his essay. Mr. Horn had mentioned that the thing he missed most about Kurt's essay writing was his ability to challenge ideas and opinions others would look over. He said that if he could find that spark again and prove it through his paper, his grade was likely to improve.

But all thoughts of his essay flew right out of his mind when Kurt found the last person he'd ever expect to see in the library.

"Noah?" he said out loud, stirring the gently sleeping boy awake. He had fallen asleep all over his chemistry text books.

"W-where am I?" he yawned, stuttering as he blinked away sleep.

"The library," Kurt answered, swallowing the huge knot in his throat that would void him of speech soon and pinching himself to make sure he really was talking to Noah Puckerman.

"The library?" Puck questioned, "How the hell did I end up here?"

Kurt shook his head; his guess was as good as Puckermans. "I can't be too sure but um… it looks like you were studying for chemistry."

"Oh," Puck said putting two and two together, "That sounds about right. Freaking Harper said she'd fail me if I didn't get at least a C+ on this stupid paper. And then she told Beiste about it so Coach says she'll kick me off the team if I don't get a B. So unfair man."

Suddenly Kurt was struck by a brilliant idea. He knew he'd hate himself later for suggesting it but it was just one of those moments where he could not see a better alternative. "Hey, I got an A on that test, I can help you study if you like?" Puck eyed him curiously as if weighing out all his options before considering Kurt's proposal, "Why?" he asked suspiciously, "What's in it for you?"

Kurt felt sorry for Puck; if Puck automatically thought Kurt wanted something out of this that only could mean one thing: Puck wasn't used to people helping him without reason. He shook his head, "No, nothing, it's just… you know, you're the captain of the football team. And the Titan's have just lost Hudson, they can't afford to lose another star player. Helping you would just be like, a favor to the school, you know?"

Kurt could almost see Puck's head growing as the praise registered in his mind, "Yeah, it would be a loss to the school, wouldn't it?" He looked Kurt up and down as if he were still trying to make sense of why he would try to help him. "Hey aren't you that Hummel kid who fell in love with his brother or something?"

Kurt's eyes grew wide. Trust Puck to remember that. "N-no, that wasn't me. I participate in glee club—you might remember me from one of our more memorable performances? I do tend to outshine the rest of them."

At the mention of gleeclub_, _Puck didn't have to think very hard, "Nah, I don't watch that gay shit. But, point is, as long as you're not some fag I have to throw into a dumpster, I'll strike you a deal. The Cheerios are throwing a party next Friday night after the big game. If you help me with this paper, I'll promise you'll have Brittany Pierce as your date for the night. I'm going with Santana Lopez and if we're lucky enough we might even get to see them kiss! Deal?"

Kurt attempted to administer his best smile but even though he knew it was obviously very fake Puck took that as his consent on the offer.

~.~

It was the following Thursday afternoon before Kurt got a chance to really speak to Puck again after they had spent time studying together on Puck's paper. If Kurt was being honest with himself, it would have happened sooner but he was trying to avoid his crush because he really wasn't looking forward to going to the Cheerio's party tomorrow, especially because he was going to have to take Brittany. It wasn't as if he had anything against her. She often said, did and asked funny things, like the other day in Government when she had asked Kurt if he could count to purple backwards. He was only going to the party to see Puck and he'd rather take no one as his date if he had to take a girl. Still, Kurt was willing to suck this all up so that, at the very least, Puck would continue to talk to him and further prevent Kurt being involved in any future dumpster tossing.

"Hey Hummel? Kurt! Wait up!"

Kurt turned to face the one person he could no longer avoid and saw Puck hurrying over to him in the hallway. He ignored the feeling that was causing his heart to beat ten times faster and noticed that Puck was in a good mood and holding on to what Kurt could only assume was his chemistry paper.

"Oh hey Noah," he said casually, unable to stop the creeper smile crawling all over his face, "How'd you go with your paper?"

Puck didn't hesitate in answering. "I got a B+! Beiste almost choked on her damn chicken drumsticks!" He thumped Kurt hard on the back in a friendly gesture but it was with such force that he almost fell forward onto the floor.

"Now," Puck continued, noticing nothing, "as a man of my word, not only have you got yourself an invite to one of the hottest parties at McKinley but you've also got Brittany Pierce as your super hot date."

"Hold up!" someone demanded behind Kurt, "Did you just say _super hot_?"

Both Puck and Kurt turned to see Santana and Brittany standing near them. "You best be talking about us Puckerman!" Santana threatened seductively. Kurt noticed that she and Brittany had their arms linked together and he wondered how close they really were if Puck had noted that he had seen them kiss before. He also noticed himself go uneasy because their skirts were barely long enough to cover their bloomers and Brittany was already tracing her fingers all over his face.

"The legends are true," she muttered, "your skin really is as soft as a baby's."

Kurt wasn't sure how to reply, "Uh, thanks Brit."

Santana's eyes narrowed, "Better make sure you look after my girl tomorrow night, Hummel. Don't know why Puck here thought you'd be interested but since Brittany and I are down with lady kisses I guess it makes sense for the two of you to hang out."

Kurt wished she stopped assuming things about him. He was sick of everyone doing that.

~.~

Friday loomed over Kurt's head like a giant black cloud and before he knew it he was standing in front of his mirror, at least ten outfits behind him lying in a mess on his bed and he still hadn't found anything to wear. He was at home by himself. Burt and Finn were staying late at the garage and Carole had plans. Kurt had already let his dad know that he'd be going out half hoping that his dad would have said no so that he'd have an excuse not to go. But as he squeezed himself out of the tight jeans and vest combo that he'd just decided against he realized that there was only one option.

He snuck into Fin's room very tentatively crinkling his nose up at the smell and rolling his eyes at the extremely bad décor and the fact that most of Finn's clothes were on the floor in a heap. He strode over to Finn's wardrobe, feeling a little James Bond as he slid the in-built doors open. He raised an eyebrow at the tacky Playboy poster stuck on the wall but quickly rummaged through trying to find something that would pass as someone who'd never be so stupid to fall for their now step-brother.

It was a frustrating task; nothing that Finn owned matched and everything seemed to be three sizes too big. But Finn's clothes reminded Kurt of his dad and that only convinced him even more that was he was doing here in Finn's room was the right thing.

He finally settled for a Van Halen t-shirt throwing over an open buttoned checkered plaid tee and some baggy dark wash faded denim jeans that looked like they had been purchased from K-Mart. He put on some old sneakers that were from his elementary days that surprisingly still fit him and a baseball hat that supported the Reds.

He didn't even recognize himself.

~.~

When he arrived at Santana's house to pick up Brittany, he was surprised to see that Santana was already outside waiting for Puck.

"Oh hi Hummel," she noted looking very flattering with the way her hair done up. "Forgive me for not recognizing you in boy's clothes."

Brittany skipped over to the front door before Kurt had a chance to say anything back to Santana so he just glared at her instead. Brittany then reached out and hugged Kurt, thanking him for coming as he patted her back awkwardly and was forced to smell her hair but he also noticed that Santana seemed to be _seething_ over it.

"Oh Santana?" He mentioned, finally deciding on a comeback, "Try not to get _too_ jealous." Now it was she who was left with nothing except to glare right back at him but he was happy he finally had one on her.

In the car now, Kurt was hoping for a nice quiet drive but unfortunately with Brittany next to him that was not going to happen.

"Can I touch your face again?"

"I'm trying to drive, Brit."

"So… is that a no?"

"Yes, that's a no."

"That's so confusing! Fine. Why are you wearing a hat when the sun's not even out?"

"I support the Reds, no matter what time of day it is."

"Okay, so why are you wearing Finn's clothes?"

Kurt was tempted to slam the brakes when she asked that but instead he kept his cool, "These are mine, Brit."

Brittany sighed, "I wish you wouldn't lie to me. I'd hate to see your nose grow long like Pin-Okie-Oh. Anyway, it's like I keep telling Santana. You shouldn't try to hide all the awesome you are. And FYI—I happen to like what you wear at school a whole lot better than what you're wearing now. _Your_ clothes also smell better."

To Kurt's further surprise, Brittany actually seemed a little annoyed with him. He tried to lighten the mood, "My school clothes are nicer? Why? Because I dress like a girl?"

"No, because at school, you're being true to yourself. And I don't care if it's old-fashioned like a British tea cozy. That's what being sexy is all about."

Kurt smiled. Brittany actually had some pretty sound advice. "Yeah, but you know, Puck would never talk to me again if I turned up to the party wearing what I wore to school."

"And yet the first time he bothered to speak to you, I'm pretty sure you were dressed major fabulously."

Kurt sighed. He guessed there was no longer any point hiding anything from Brittany now. She just seemed to _know_. "Why did you agree to come with me to this party? You could have just asked Santana out."

Brittany shrugged, "I figured since I'm a girl and I like girls, and you're a boy that likes boys, that we have something in common, and since high school is the jungle it is, we're better off looking out for one another, you know?"

"Wow, Brittany, that's really nice of you…"

"You seem surprised?"

"I just… well, never mind, it looks like we're here!"

Brittany looked a lot more excited now as she got out of the car. "Looks like we are! Well, I guess I'll see you inside, Kurt. Thanks for driving me in." She kissed him very fast on the cheek making sure the jocks out the front saw and winked at him as she disappeared inside.

It also looked like the party was well underway. The music was loud, there were streamers and empty red cups all over the front lawn and a fountain in the front yard had already been mummified in toilet paper. Kurt had no idea where Brittany was but he had seen a couple of girls he had recognized from the Cheerios following in her wake.

He sighed and trudged slowly in doors. He was usually noticed or whispered about wherever he went but here he miserably blended in and everyone else was too preoccupied to care much for looking at some teenage clone. But they looked like they were having fun; there were teens dancing and drinking or making out. There were a lot more party decorations inside, balloons and streamers and they seemed to be centered around a giant beer keg in the room. Some fiery red head (also from the Cheerios) had removed the tap from the barrel though and had shoved it down her top. She was running around the house with it teasingly tempting some jocks to take it out again. Puck hadn't arrived yet and Kurt only knew this because Santana wasn't here yet either. Brittany was long gone but he was less concerned with that and more worried with the fact that he had no idea what he was doing here at this party. He had to laugh at the irony of the situation – most teens would have to sneak out of home to get into a party like this and here he was planning to sneak out of the party to get home. He was just getting ready to leave when he felt someone's hand on his arm.

"Can I get you a beer?"

Kurt immediately turned. He was staring into the eyes of one of McKinley's more butch and burlier jocks. Kurt knew his name, knew his face, had seen him around the halls…

"Karofsky," the boy offered, handing Kurt a bottle and shaking his other hand, "Drink?"

Kurt nodded shyly and took it, bumping the glass gently against Karofsky's before taking a large sip.

"You new to McKinley?" Karofsky asked his beer already half gone, "Haven't seen you around before."

This was of course a lie but there was no way Karofsky was going to admit he already knew who Kurt was. Kurt raised an eyebrow as he took another sip of his beer, "I've been in your math class since freshman year," he reminded him, "you might know me better as Hummel."

"As in Lady Hummel?"

"No!" Kurt defended weakly, "As in Kurt Hummel. I'm Finn Hudson's brother."

Karofsky's drink was almost half gone. "Didn't you like, have a crush on him or something?"

Kurt almost choked, "Why does everyone always assume that? Seriously? Who started those rumors?" It didn't matter if they were true; it was time Kurt squashed them away for good. If he could get over his crush, why couldn't everyone else?

"Relax Hummel!" shrugged Karofsky, his drink near finished, "I saw you drive in with Brittany Pierce. I'm not dumb you know."

Kurt wanted to laugh but instead he just drank more of his beer. He was near finishing his first drink too and he wanted to keep up with Karofsky to seem… _cool_.

"So what are you doing wearing Finn's clothes? Only reason I know is 'cos I'm pretty sure that t-shirt belonged to Puck and he just gave it to Hudson for his birthday or something."

Kurt shrugged, "It's the 21st century! I'm sure brothers are still sharing clothes in the new millennium, right?"

Karofsky shrugged, "Whatever," he mumbled. Truth was—he loved what Kurt wore to school. It was hard not to notice how good he looked everyday but… it was even more impossible not to hear the rumors that the kid was obviously gay and he didn't want people saying the same things about him that they were saying about Kurt.

But Karofsky still couldn't deny the way Kurt made him feel…

"Karofsky?" Kurt asked, his head tilted to the side and a look of utter confusion on his face, "You okay there? You seemed to have zoned out."

"I'm fine," he said gruffly, "You mind getting me another drink?"

"Sure," Kurt agreed; it was at the least he could do after Karofsky had been so nice to offer him one first. As he walked away to find some more alcohol, Karofsky couldn't help but watch him, which he enjoyed except if he was going to be truly honest with himself… he _hated_ Kurt for making him feel this way.

~.~

By ten pm, Kurt had foolishly lost count of all the drinks he had thus far. Yet nothing could prepare him for the steamy make out session that was happening in the middle of the room between Brittany and Santana. Both girls were in their bras and shorts, hands firmly on each other's breast with their tongues down each other's throats. While all the jocks in the room were all into it, wolf-whistling and carrying on like crazy, Kurt felt like he was about t vomit with how uncomfortable and awkward he felt. Suddenly, a large hand came down on his shoulder and the boy whose hand it was almost came crashing down to the floor dragging Kurt with him. Kurt didn't mind in the slightest though because he had _just_ downed a shot of god knows what to blur the Brittana show and also because the boy who owned the hand was Noah Puckerman.

"Duudde!" he exclaimed, amazingly finding the ability to stand again, "Did I not tell you that we'd be this lucky?"

He was referring of course to Brittany and Santana who had now progressed to a table and were still at it except in a more compromising position. Kurt made a grab for Puck's drink, giving him no chance to protest and downing the whole thing.

"Yeah!" Kurt agreed, "It's the most shockingly disturbing thing I've ever seen!" He gave Puck no time to process the comment and headed straight for the kitchen.

"Heeey! Where are you going? Hummel!"

"Relax! I'm getting you another drink!"

When he got to the kitchen however, he couldn't quite remember why he was there. Realizing he desperately needed to pee, Kurt trekked up a flight of stairs (or more accurately crawled up them) and managed to find the bathroom. But when he left after relieving himself, in another bout of short term memory loss, Kurt couldn't remember where he was.

"I must have fallen down the rabbit hole…" he assumed out loud stumbling several times as he walked across the hallway. And then, though he didn't know what possessed him to do it, he started to sing—and someone suddenly noticed.

"That's a beautiful voice you got there – even if it is a bit sloppy after all that alcohol." Kurt stared for a long time at the boy speaking to him but was convinced that he was in fact a white rabbit. _The_ white rabbit, actually, come to take him away… because why would an incredibly cute blonde boy tell him his singing was sloppy? A cute blonde boy with full lips and tight jeans, with a smile to die for and—real live bunny ears?

"And you are?" Kurt asked, his hands flying to his hips.

"I'm the white rabbit," the boy informed him, "And I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date…" He _pounced_ down the hallway and—it suddenly all made sense! Kurt really was in Wonderland and he was meant to follow bunny boy.

So he did.

When he finally managed to stumble his way down to the only open door right at the other end of the hall, he stepped inside to find that the bunny had completely transformed into a gorgeous shirtless boy…

"You've made it, Alice," the boy smiled, "Now you get your reward."

"We're having a tea party?" Kurt exclaimed giddily.

"Even better. You get to kiss me."

Everything around Kurt seemed to sway with him. "W-what? You want—_me_—to kiss you?"

"I promise I taste better than anything at a tea party."

Kurt looked confused but he clumsily walked over to the boy and distracted by the boys sudden arms around him began poking his abs laughing giddily, "Your skin is so real and taut and sexy. It's not like bunny fur at all. I mean it's—_mmmppph_…."

Kurt's legs felt like they were going to collapse underneath him but one thing was for sure—whether it was the alcohol coursing through his veins or whether it was because he was suddenly horny and some hot guy had just grabbed him and started kissing him, he was suddenly running his hands all over the boys chest and through his hair and was pulling him closer to him as they kissed and kissed and kissed. The boy was right—he _did_ taste more wonderful than anything Kurt had ever had at a tea party. He was like cinnamon and vanilla and even a little white chocolate…

The door slamming behind them broke Kurt out of his spell and he turned to face a football jock who looked oh so familiar… and clearly pissed off.

"Get out of here, Evans. Throw Hummel on the bed and get the fuck out!"

"Aw, c'mon Karofsky! You said after I kissed him I'd get my rent money! I _need_ that money for my brother and sister!"

"Get Hummel on the bed," Karofsky repeated through his teeth, "And I'll give you enough money to feed your whole family for an entire month."

Sam Evan's eyes closed in pain. He really didn't want to be a part of this. But he had only just transferred here though and there was no way he was moving again. His family had been through enough.

"I'm sorry, Alice," he told Kurt as he pushed him down hard on the bed holding his hands until Karofsky had all but climbed on top of Kurt trapping him underneath.

"What's g-going on?" Kurt asked frantically, "I thought this was W-wonderland!"

"No," Karofsky explained, "It's not. It's your fucking nightmare!"

"I don't understand!" Kurt yelled wriggling desperately underneath him, "What did I do? Why are you hurting me?"

"Because you turned me into a freak!" Karofsky yelled back, "I can't sleep, I can't eat, you're in my dreams – and I've _never_ been more disgusted with myself!"

"What do you mean you can't eat? You look as if you weigh two hundred points!"

Karofsky swore out in anger and squeezed Kurt's wrists hard, "Don't mock me, Hummel!" From within his letterman jacket he pulled out of wad of cash and tossed it over to Sam. "Get out of here, Evans! Tell a soul and I'll break your jaw! And lock that door behind you on your way out!"

Sam gave Kurt one desperate apologetic look but then saw the cash in his hand and fled the room, door firmly locking behind him.

Kurt struggled to get Karofsky off him but he was no match for him and he was too far drunk now to be reasoned with. "It's your fault!" he told Kurt again, holding him down harder, pinning Kurt's hands so that they were above his head. "I _knew _you were gay! I just needed Evans to prove it! Desperate cash whores agree to anything… And now that I know for sure what you are, I'm going to make sure you don't get away with it. You're not going to change anyone else the way you changed me!"

"I'm not gay!" Kurt protested futilely, "And even if I was, I didn't make you gay! I would be proud of it if I was because it's just a part of who you are! So stop being such a coward, embrace it, and get the hell off me!"

He was only lying to calm Karofsky down but it seemed to be making him angrier, "Don't feed me that activist bullshit, Hummel!" Karofsky threatened, "I told you I'm not dumb!"

"I know!" Kurt agreed desperately, "You said you saw me come here with Brittany! I know you don't really believe I can possibly be who you think I am."

Karofsky rolled his eyes, "Do you want to know what I know? I _know _you told Puckerman that girl on girl is _disturbing_. What kind of straight guy says that? And thanks to you, I can't even enjoy the free show! And don't act like you didn't say it because minutes after you did you were up here making out with Sam! I don't care how drunk you say you are; you knew you were making out with a boy! I told you, I'm not dumb but I ain't stupid either! You're the reason for this! You ruined me!"

He was really digging into Kurt now who was thinking fast the best way to get out of this situation. "Okay, well since you're not stupid," Kurt said even more desperately, his wrists were beyond hurting now, "You would know that being gay is _not_ contagious! If it were you probably caught it off Santana and Brittany who have been making out the whole night!"

"GRRRR ENOUGH! You will pay for what you did to me! I'm _done_ talking!"

And before Kurt could protest anymore, Karofsky had crushed his mouth against his. It was nothing like kissing Sam. There was no spark, no vanilla, no cinnamon. Just bitterness and stale beer and rough hands that were roaming—_everywhere_.

"No!" Kurt begged, the sassiness in his voice gone now, all that was left was the pleading, "Please! Stop! Don't!" He wasn't sure when the tears had started but he was already crying and his voice was so weak but he'd talk forever if meant that Karofsky would stop. "Please, stop!"

"Stop, no!"

"Don't… Stop…!"

"…stop…"

_Stop_.

~.~

* * *

><p>AN: This took a lot out of me and was extremely hard to write :( Please, please review! In Chapter Ten, you'll find out more about why Kurt is the way he is, why he settles for one night stands, why he believes he can never truly be with Blaine…

Thanks so much for getting this far and I really hope you all stick around!


	10. Boulevard of Broken Dreams

**The Stranger's Son**

_paperstylehearts_

…Chapter Ten…_ Boulevard of Broken Dreams_

Dr. Reed assessed Kurt studiously. She was by profession, a very patient woman. But Kurt had told her nothing except that there had been a boy in his school named Puck that he had liked and whom had been very popular. But now their session was almost ending and Kurt had their glossed over pained look in his eyes that she had seen so many times in so many of her patients and she knew they had a long way to go before she would get the chance to truly help him.

"Kurt? I would really like to see you again. I know we haven't made much progress this session but just the fact that you're brave enough to be sitting here is a huge step in itself." She paused. "I also want to give you my card. It has my cell number on it, so if for any reason, at whatever time, if you need someone I'm here."

Kurt looked up at her. The pain in his eyes was still obviously there but he gave her the slightest nod as she stood up. Kurt's eyes wandered to her shelf behind her and the look of pain on his face was suddenly replaced with a look of bewilderment.

"That photo…?" he said slowly; he had been sitting here for almost an hour and he couldn't believe he hadn't noticed it yet. He forgot how he tended to zone out completely when he was forced to mentally relive his McKinley days and not noticing this photo was a pure sign that he had indeed zoned out.

Dr. Reed turned to face the photo Kurt was referring to and when she saw it she smiled, "Ah, yes, I do love this photo. This man here is wonderful; a great friend and a renowned police officer…." Her face changed expression when she noticed that Kurt had closed his eyes. "Do you know this man, Kurt?"

Kurt sighed. Of course he knew the man. Granted, he hadn't realized that he was a cop when he'd met him though, but that would explain why Blaine had urged Kurt to tell him about what had happened to his room.

But that wasn't the only reason that Kurt was feeling uneasy. Because it wasn't just the man he had met before, it was the photo he had seen before too. On a nightstand in a stranger's room where he had jumped to the conclusion after seeing this particular photo that the man he had just slept with might have been straight.

And then he was forced to say something about the narrowness of the situation. Because if Alex and Dr. Reed had a copy of the same photo, it meant one thing—

"You're Blaine's mother."

Dr. Reed didn't hesitate. She reached for her phone and quickly paged her receptionist, eyes never leaving Kurt. "Hi Kathy. I'm going to need you to reschedule all of my today appointments."

~.~

When Blaine reached Alex's place, he wasn't surprised to see that his mom was already home. She was back from Boston indefinitely and he was kinda glad that she was around even if it meant she could be gone again at any time. She had such a calming aura about her and he never remembered how powerful it was until he was in her presence again.

"I hope you and Alex are cooking tonight," she said by way of greeting him.

"If you want," Blaine shrugged. He noticed she was wearing her business attire which she only did when she—

"Mom, were you at work today?"

She poured him a glass of orange juice, "Well, _yes_ Blaine, I know I'm stationed a lot in Boston but I still have an office here and I still need to work. Dalton isn't free, you know."

But that wasn't what Blaine was thinking about. "But what about all the other doctors in the centre?"

"What about them?"

"Were they working today, too?"

"Yes, Blaine, it turns out that they also need to work."

Blaine relaxed slightly. Hearing this meant there was a chance Kurt had seen someone else. Blaine hadn't thought his mom would go to the office today when he recommended the place to Kurt so he didn't want to have to explain to him why he didn't explain that she worked there. Kurt was already in a delicate fragile state and needed to talk to someone and Blaine thought Kurt wouldn't have bothered to go if he knew Blaine's mom worked there.

"Is something wrong, Blaine?" Leanne asked skeptically.

Blaine walked over to the sink, washing out his empty glass. "Um, no it's okay, I just know one of the patients who came to see you today, but I know you can't talk about that, so let's not, okay?"

Leanne sighed. She hadn't intended to bring up Kurt with Blaine and she still wasn't going to because Blaine was right, she couldn't talk about it. But—

"Blaine honey, just because I can't talk to you about my patients, doesn't mean you can't talk to me about whatever is on your mind. You know that, right?"

And he did. And he really wanted to talk to his mom about Kurt and how he was falling for his teacher even though he knew it was wrong… but if he did, his mom would probably psycho analyze him and also probably want to get Kurt fired so… he didn't say anything because he above all else he couldn't risk his mom stop talking to Kurt because of conflict of interest. Kurt needed someone. And if it couldn't be Blaine at least it was with a professional that he trusted. So he just nodded.

"By the way," he added to Leanne, "you should totally see the new apron that Alex bought. It's _so_ gay."

~.~

"Blaine?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay?" Sebastian asked, whispering quietly, as they were in class and he didn't want to get called out by their teacher for talking.

Blaine sighed, "Not really."

It had been a week. A week since Blaine had seen Kurt. Sure, they had talked on the phone and Blaine had recommended Kurt to the centre that his mom worked at, that he himself had gone to when he had been in a rough place, but that had been the day after the incident and since then Kurt hadn't been answering any of his messages or his calls. Blaine was worried. He hoped this had nothing to do with the fact that Kurt was angry with him for not telling him about his mom. But he didn't want to be paranoid because he knew Kurt just needed some time, but he couldn't deny to himself that there was an overwhelming desire in him that just wanted to be there for Kurt, next to him, protecting him, holding him, promising him that everything would be okay. And yet… he still he didn't want to show up at Kurt's apartment if he wasn't ready to see anyone yet. Of all people, Blaine knew what it was to want to be alone and if he pushed Kurt to see him that would only make him a hypocrite.

Sebastian felt bad too. Not for Kurt, he didn't much care for their new teacher and he hoped he would get the credit he deserved for taking over his remedial classes. But Kurt's absence meant that Blaine was upset and once again Sebastian couldn't understand why it was that it hurt him so much to see Blaine so down.

"Why don't you ask Holly if Kurt's okay? I'm sure she must know something if she's subbing for him, right?"

Blaine continued doodling absently on the paper in front of him. Honestly, he hadn't thought much about that. He was sure Dalton wouldn't be obligated to tell her _why_ she had to sub for Kurt but after remembering the night out at Club Q he knew they were friends so there was a possibility that she would know something about how he was doing. And any news about Kurt right now was better than not knowing anything.

"Did you want me to hang back with you after French to ask her?" Sebastian offered suppressing the urge to comfort Blaine and put his hand on his shoulder. He mentally cursed the invention of _feelings_ it totally wasn't his thing and was fast making him weak.

But Blaine shook his head, "No. It's okay, I'll ask her myself. Thanks though. Are you coming to Warbler's practice today?"

Sebastian nodded, "Yeah."

"Cool, I'll see you then."

Sebastian didn't have another period with Blaine until French but Blaine was late to class so Sebastian didn't end up sitting next to him. And after class, he only had time to give Blaine one last look as he saw him stalling, preparing to stay back to talk to Holly.

No doubt, Holly was an incredible teacher. Her enthusiasm and passion for the class combined with her young age and the fact that she had a great voice herself made her one of Blaine's favorite teachers. But she wasn't Kurt. And right now, Blaine just wanted Kurt. He needed to know if Kurt was okay.

Miss Holliday was erasing her name from the board when she felt Blaine standing behind her. "What can I do for you, Blaine?"

He jumped, slightly startled, he had forgotten her uncanny ability to be more aware of student's motivations and actions then they suspected. It was why she was the teacher who noticed if there was something on her chair before she sat down, who glided with ease if the floors were waxed on purpose, who had excellent reflexes if objects were thrown her, and, in Blaine's case, knew when there was a student standing behind her to talk to her after class.

He smiled shortly, "I mean no disrespect to you, Mademoiselle, but I was just wondering if you knew when Monsieur Hummel would be returning to class."

Holly turned around giving him puppy eyes, "Blaine, you are ever the gentleman, aren't you? No disrespect taken my friend! But you know the school isn't required to tell me anything about Kurt, right? And that even if they did, all I'd be able to tell you was he was chucking sickies?"

Blaine looked downcast, "I guess. But I also know that you and he are friends so I… I was just wondering if you knew anything. I guess I'm just… worried about him."

Holly tilted her head as she looked at him, as if only just remembering something, "Wow, so that really was you at Club Q, eh? I thought that was just wishful hoping on my part for Kurt; see he was crushing on you with a capital M for Major but," She paused staring at Blaine, suddenly remembering where they were, "Oh shit! You didn't hear that from me, okay? So, well um yeah, still not meant to be telling you anything but… he's just dealing with some stuff. He'll be back when he's ready. He's a very strong young man so I don't think you have anything to worry about."

Blaine nodded, slinging his Prada satchel higher as he made to leave the room. He thanked Holly and could feel her eyes on him as he walked away.

"Blaine?" she said just as he made his way to the door. He turned around to acknowledge he had heard her.

"Kurt's staying at his friend Julie's place so if you wanted to see him, that would be a good place to start."

Blaine looked so downcast and defeated; Holly cursed the rule that forbade her from having physical contact with any of her students. She just wanted to hug him. "Is something wrong, Blaine?"

"Somehow… I don't think Kurt wants to see me right now."

Holly shook her head, "I don't think so. I know he's been avoiding his cell, but he tends to do that a lot anyway. I know he might not want company but I think he'd be really glad to see someone if it was you."

"Really?"

"Really, really," Holly repeated. "Now get out of here!" she joked.

~.~

Kurt and Julie were cuddled up on her couch, watching reruns of _An American Horror Story _under a rainbow blanket they were sharing. It was the same blanket that Julie had bought at a gay pride festival with Kurt. Presently they were munching on popcorn when Julie's eyes suddenly grew wide and she focused all her attention on her friend.

"Oh no…" Julie said, staring right at Kurt.

Kurt looked right back at her and felt his body immediately tense up, "What's wrong?"

She went right up to him and looked him square in the eye, "It looks like we're about to face the… face the return of Zombie Kurt! Grrrr! Aaargh!" She made weird hand gestures and screeches that would have looked great in a remake of _Thriller_.

Kurt put his hand to his chest, "_Jesus_ Julie, I thought something was seriously wrong!"

"But don't you see that the return of Zombie Kurt _is_ so very wrong!" She flung her hands to her hips, mocking annoyance. "I mean look at you. I can't remember the last time you went this long without moisturizing! Your skin is actually drying on me and you have dark circles under your eyes which prove you haven't been sleeping well and that makes no sense because you haven't got out of the house in a week! Holly Holliday, with all her crazy quirks, called up to talk to you. Even Brian is worried about you."

Kurt showed no emotion at the response so Julie pressed the point harder. "_Brian_, Kurt_. _The man has the emotional range of a teaspoon and he's worried about you."

"Why?" Kurt asked lazily, "Because he hasn't been able to come to your place in the week since I've been here? You know, I don't dictate who comes in and out of your place, Julie. He's still free to come over and see you if he wants. I don't mean to intrude."

"Oh please! We all know if he comes over we're going to have hot raging sex and unfortunately for you I can't keep my mouth shut."

"_Julie_!"

"Well, that got your attention, didn't it? Coffee?"

"I would love some. And why couldn't you get my attention by offering me a cup of steaming hot goodness _before_ boasting about your obviously raging sex life?"

She walked over to the coffee pot smiling, "Because nothing gets anyone attention better than when they hear the word sex."

Kurt rolled his eyes and watched Julie as she made the coffee. Her moves were so fluid, even when she was doing something so mundane. She caught him staring at her.

"Honey, if I didn't know any better, I'd swear you were just giving me flirty eyes."

Kurt winked, "Maybe I was. Sorry, I'm just trying to distract myself. I'm worried about my apartment."

Julie handed him his coffee, "Have you reported it to the cops? Do you know who did it?"

_Karofsky._

"N-no, I have no idea. And I'm sure the cops have better things to worry about then an unexplained messy room. But I'm not as much worried about that as I am worried about what the hell the new interior designer is doing to the place at the moment. You didn't have to pay for my apartment makeover, Julie."

"Yeah well I did, so shut up. You're one of my best friends, Kurt. Without you, I probably would have never landed this Broadway gig, or have this much money in the first place, so I owe you. Big time."

He put her arm around her and lay his head to rest on her shoulder. "Thanks Julie. You're one of my best friends too."

She laughed, "You're only saying that because you want me to marry Brian so you can tell everyone your best friend is Broadway star Julie_ Andrews_."

"That and you make excellent coffee. Starbucks still hasn't found a worthy replacement."

She poked out her tongue at him. "Nice to know you're using me!" She huddled closer to him, "Soooo tell me. What's going on with that guy you met at that fancy dinner party I took you to?"

"What guy?"

"Duh. The one you went home with!"

Oh. She meant Alex.

Blaine's dad.

"One night stand. Nothing more."

Julie looked devastated. "Oh that's too bad. I really liked him. Especially after one of the guys working on the show told me that your guy was there _undercover_. As in your guy was a cop. Do I know how to pick them or what?"

She got up to take Kurt's already half empty coffee cup to refill it. "So you haven't been in contact with him at _all_ since that night?"

"Well, yes actually," Kurt said truthfully, "But it's complicated."

Unfortunately for Kurt, Julie had that look on her face that told Kurt he was nowhere near mentally prepared for what she was about to say next.

"Well?" Kurt asked, in anticipation. "What is it?"

Julie handed him his refilled coffee turning to distract herself with the kitchen. "I may have possibly gone through your cell to stalk out his number and invite him over…?"

"You what? Why would you do that?"

Feeling a little foolish, she still couldn't quite bring herself to look at him. "I mentioned that Heedless Holly rang up to find out about you, yes? Well, we got talking, as we girls do because we love to complicate ourselves in your lack of love life and she mentioned that you were really into someone you had just met and I jumped to the conclusion that it was Mr. Hot Stuff from _our_ night because it had only been less than two weeks since you hooked up and it if it wasn't him, how the hell do you travel so fast from one man to another, you shark you?"

She said this all really fast as her face twisted into a sympathetic look begging for an apology.

"Remember when I said it was complicated?" Kurt asked to which Julie quickly nodded.

"It's complicated because I hooked up with his eighteen year old step-son, Blaine. Who also happens to be a student in my French class."

Julie's shoulders fell. "Oh. _Oh! _Oh Kurt—how could you let things get so complicated? I know he's legal but you could still lose your job over this. And if something like that gets on your record, you will probably never be able to teach again."

Kurt stared down at his coffee, "I know. Trust me, I know. And I also know I have a huge crush on Blaine and he's been through so much, you should see his student file Jules, but you know me, I'd never act on an impulse I had over a student. I just… I have to... I have to be with him. I'm—"

–_being blackmailed. _

"If you tell me you're in love Kurt, I swear to God…"

A knock interrupted their conversation. Julie looked at the door but made no attempt to get it. "You may as well answer that. It's probably Alex. And you're right, this is complicated. But at least he's a cop. Maybe he'll be able to take on your case. If you're not sleeping with him anymore, there shouldn't be a problem…"

She was still busying herself in the kitchen as Kurt got up to answer the door, rolling his eyes, because he swear he just saw his best friend down a shot of vodka and he was hurriedly thinking of the best excuse he could come up with to have Alex out of his way as soon as possible. There was no way in hell that he was going to report what had happened because if he did, then _Karofsky_ would find out and Kurt wasn't willing to risk that but… when he opened the door to greet him, his mouth fell open. Because it wasn't Alex who had come to see him.

"Hi, Kurt."

~.~


End file.
